


Crossing Stars

by the_queen_of_thedas



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Asteria - Freeform, Constellations, F/M, M/M, MGiT, Magical Tattoos, Modern Character in Thedas, Modern Girl in Thedas, Modern Goddess in Thedas, Orion, Titans, the gods must be crazy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6612187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_queen_of_thedas/pseuds/the_queen_of_thedas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asteria was a God, well sort of, a Titan. The Titaness of the stars, magic, illusions, necromancy and oracles to be exact. She is one of the last remaining of her kind not locked away from The Fall: when the Gods and Titans duked it out for supremacy of the Earth. (Or so the mythology says), but of her mythology, of her religion. Thousands of years have passed, ages went by, religions came and went. The Gods and Titans drifting from the faith of mortals, and in turn losing their once great power and immortality.  </p><p>With the threat of immortals actually dying, Asteria is faced with her own demise. She's managed so far, living a normal-ish life throughout the ages.  Now she tries to just cope living in modern day London paying taxes, rent, gas, and feeding her video game obsession.   </p><p>But when she pisses off the wrong God, all Styx break out as she is thrust into Thedas. Yep, the geeky Titan is thrown into the world of her favourite game. Asteria must come to terms her death and must battle a wannabe god, with only the help of the magical tattooed constellations on her skin and the characters she's fallen in love with. Not exactly the kind of thing Asteria had in mind for a regular 'day.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Betrayal of the Gods

Black inked tattoos of constellations danced across Asteria's revealed skin. Each one shimmering with magic and excitement. Her long black hair trailed down over a comfortable navy blue sweatshirt and almost reaching the waistline of her jeans.

The constellations watched with eager eyes as she finished one of her latest playthroughs of Inquisition. It remionded her of Greece in a way, the struggle for power and the justice that was craved. It was all to close to what the Titaness had lived and seen in her time of providance. It's also why she preferred Solas to most of the other characters. She saw herself in him. The result of a crumbling age. Him so desperate to hold onto pieces of his past. Only to have them slip through his fingers like water.  

They enjoyed this escape the ability to lose oneself in a world that wasn't dying. To finally help people, mortals again.  

It was a change from the show she had put on for the past few centuries. Acting as if she was normal. Getting a job, paying the bills, etc... etc... It never ended. When she could just play a game or read a book, she could regain a part of herself. A part that was lost so long ago in the fall.

Placing the controller on the coffee table in front of her she switched off the TV. Standing, she sighed rubbing her temples. The headache was getting worse and only would increase. She knew this. After a moment of regaining her focus, she stood and stretched. With a couple satisfactory cracks and pops of joint, Asteria shook out her arms and then went to look around her meager apartment. She'd owned this one in London for a couple years now. It was a small studio that was perfect for her painting. It even had a huge window that leads out to a balcony. That's where she kept her prized possession: Orion SkyQuest XT8i IntelliScope. The irony that her most faithful and best friend shared a name with it was not lost on her.   

"You guys want to do something today? I think I've spent enough time gushing over Solas, Cassandra, and Bull for one day." Asteria lifted her arms and examined all her constellations, her friends, her companions. They seemed to be abuzz with excitement, their emotion fueling Asterias.

"Alright, alright. I was thinking we could all go down to that new little coffee shop that opened just around the corner from the weird.... oh gods, what it's called." Asteria snapped her fingers as if that action alone would bring forth the memory.

"Body shop." A smooth voice added.

"That’s the one! " Asteria turned to smile at her old friends. Orion stood  good foot taller than her. Maybe 6'6". A giant among men to be sure. He appeared in regular clothes, not his traditional loin cloth. Asteria grinned at the memory of trying to convince a spectral being that wearing modern clothes is better than dancing around in his underwear.  

His form was fit, but that was hard to determine considering he was basically see through. His body was a dark misty blue and black, speckled with the stars that matched in the sky.

"You know, I think you've got a caffeine problem there Eria." He chuckled.

"I blame my addictive personality." She flashed him a smirk. "It allows me to indulge."  

"Because that makes perfect sense. The Titaness of stars indulging in coffee and teas. Seems like the beginning of a bad joke."  

"You're just sad that the other one closed down a couple years back." She brought her elegant fingers to her chin trying to remember. "You always did say it was your favourite."

Orion gave a slight frown. "You know the one you're talking about shut down in 1917 right? It was also in Brooklyn." He rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew that she was beginning to forget. Small details about the past or how much time has gone by. Like waves washing away the walls of a once majestic sandcastle. It was only becoming worse as the years went on.  

"So around a hundred-ish year and a different continent. No biggy. I'll put the illusion on later tonight. Wouldn't want the mortals to think some random ghost with lights on it is drinking a spiced latte." She playfully removed his hand and made a dash for the sofa. With a leap, she landed right on the center. Grabbing the remote and sprawling out, she turned on the TV. She looked over to her friend and waved for him to come over. "Netflix or video game?"

"Didn't you say literally three minutes ago that it was enough video games for today?"

She shrugged and started up Inquisition again. Unbelievable. You’d think that by binding himself to her for over 8 millennia, he'd finally understand the way her mind worked. Yeah... no.  Admitting defeat, he walked over and sat on an adjacent chair.  

"You can never have enough Dragon Age, my dear friend." As the game came to the main menu, the Templars and mages all unknowably walking to their deaths, Orion cleared his throat.  

"I needed to tell you something Eria." He waited for her to prompt him  

"I'm not going to like this am I?" She stated as a matter of fact. ' _It's never good when he's reluctant to tell me something. Never.'_ She thought.

"No, it's about Zeus--" A loud knock came to the door to interrupt. Asteria's head snapped to the door and then to Orion. Without even a vocal cue, he transformed into a mist and formed his constellation back on her skin.  

Standing, she put down the controller and went to the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw no one. 'Strange', she thought. Curiosity was in a deity’s nature; where a typical person would just ignore the knock and continue on as they were, she instead opened the door carefully and came face to face with an empty hallway. Not a soul was in sight in either direction.  

"Looking for me?" A voice came from behind her. Spinning on her heel and out of instinct, Asteria summoned twin daggers to defend herself. The owner of the voice stood at an easy 6 foot tall. He wore shorts and a polo shirt, nothing too fancy. Though his socks and sandals statement he was making did nothing to add to his overall fashion appeal. ' _Dorian and Viv would be ashamed',_ she quipped in her mind. The staff with wings and twin snakes coiling around it would give away his identity if not for the fact that this very figure had been pestering her of late.

"Hermes." Asteria said coldly.

"The one and only." He looked her over, a sly smile dancing on his lips. "A god might get nervous, a woman approaches with her weapon drawn."  

"Nice reference, twinkle toes." Asteria reluctantly dispelled her weapons. Acting aggressively towards Hermes now would not serve her well in the long run. Sighing, she watched Hermes look over her studio as if to take inventory. "Are you going to deliver your stupid message or are you going to order me a catalogue?" Smiling, Hermes’ hand traced along the countertop.

"I come bearing a message from Zeus himself." Hermes gave her a side glance as he picked up one of her dollar store plates as if it were a carefully crafted vase. "I suggest you actually respond to this one without the usual 'Fuck you', 'Go stuff it', 'I'm not going to ruffle your feathers', 'Tricks of the light only work on captive prisoners and zealots' or, and my personal favourite: 'You couldn't tell rejection if it hit you in the erection'." Out of impulse, his fingers sneak the plate inside his clothes, all the while appearing as if he were  simply looking around.

Hermes then turned to face me head on. "Not that I don't like delivering such responses to him, mind you" He shuddered. Asteria felt bad for him. Hermes was a good god. A powerful one at that. Though he will always be under the heel of Zeus and the other 10 majors. Hermes was the go-to guy to get messages around since Iris had dissipated from existence.

Dissipation: or death, as it's commonly referred to by mortals. It's a fate that hurts worse than the bloodiest torture, or so it's been described. It was the one thing that all gods and goddesses alike feared. To die. But not like that of a mortal, no. That would be too easy. A knife to the kidney would be merciful in that situation. Dissipation was when you were forgotten. Not even a figment of an imagination. An echo of a past long since forgotten.

Deities from all religions and pantheons have been dealing with this over the centuries. When the empire falls to ruin as emprise do, the culture, the religion is lost. And so are its gods. Without those to worship them, the gods lose power. Eventually, they lose enough to be unable to interfere with the affairs of mortals and they loose their very ability to exist. None are immune. Only those remembered share a better chance.  

The only known cure, or preventative: Being remembered by mortals. It's enough of a spark to keep to going. Enough motivation to continue under the ruse of 'normal'. Enough to sustain a god.

Asteria was dying from this very-- illness wouldn't be appropriate in this situations. Affliction? She was being forgotten. The headaches were only the start. Soon she would be unable to communicate with her companions or even reach her power. Soon she would no longer be able to hold her ceremonial daggers from the 'good old days' and her body would convulse at random intervals making even the ability to appear human impossible. She would resort back to a spectral form, her arms and legs transparent and her torso hollow. She would become a husk. Nothing more than a shell eventually turning to ash. This could take years, even decades to happen. Each second the deity would be in immense pain. As stated before: it was a fate worse than that of torture.  

"Aww Well, I'm running out of ways to mock the 'great' and 'powerful' Zeus. Air quotes included." She crossed her arms in disapproval. "If he wasn't the god of the sky I'd swear he'd be the god of adultery." Asteria rolled her eyes. Hermes frowned and shook his head.

"He's not going to take this lightly, Asteria. We both know he's not a patient man." Hermes took a step closer to Asteria. With a heavy sigh, he leaned on his staff. "You were able to out run him before. But it's different now with the world changing. He's becoming more desperate for contact with anything that makes him feel like a god again."

"You're not wrong in that aspect, Milord." Orion materialized from the her skin. The three stars in his belt glistening in the low light. "You know as well as I what's going up in the heavens, Hermes." He came to stand between Asteria and the god. His spectral form shimmering.  

"Orion, what's wrong?" Orion never came out when Hermes came to 'visit'. It was too dangerous. The other gods saw them as slaves, nothing more than beings that needed to be controlled. Hermes was no different in the matter.  

"I was just pointing out that lord Hermes knows why everything is changing. And how the changes are going about."

Hermes faced turned from the playful to the poisonous. As if the snakes engraved on his staff now represented his mood. Hermes scoffed at the nerve this mere constellation had. How dare he insert himself into the affairs of gods? His mere existence is due to a god's intervention, a gift. A gift that can be taken back.  

"I know not of what you're speaking, dust." Orion flinched at the slur. To be reminded of what he could become. Of what he used to be in the beginning.  Sensing his tension, Asteria stepped forward. Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, she turned to glare at Hermes.

"How dare you come into my home and disrespect my companions?!" She exclaimed, anger clear upon her brow.  

"You ask me how I have the audacity to tell a servant where their place is?" Hermes pointed his staff in Orion’s direction. His brows creasing.

"He is no servant, Hermes. He's my friend, a brother in arms." Asteria spat at him. With a huff Hermes turned to make his exit.  

"What arms, Titaness?" He slurred at Asteria. "There is no wars to fight, no oracles to tell your tales, no mortals wishes to grant." With a wave of his hands the door opened. "You no longer matter Asteria. You've only remain this long because of his interest in you. You are nothing but a forgotten goddess playing with her hunter and pets." His sandals now sprouting wings he began to hover. "Only Zeus can help you." He slammed the door at his exit. The drama the god of thieves and messengers created could rival the muses themselves.

Asteria collapsed to the ground; Orion barely making it in time to catch her. Tears made streaks down her face. She hated how right Hermes was. She was dying. No matter how she tried to escape with a distraction of other worlds or possibilities. The reality of the situation was nothing short of painful. Maybe going to Zeus was the right thing to do. But she knew what that meant as well...

he'd make her his concubine, lover, mistress. Whatever he desired to call her. All for the exchange of him sharing enough power to stop her from dissipating. From vanishing from existence. She needed him to make her whole. And for one of the few times in her immortality, Asteria was scared. Scared to die, scared to rely on the man, the god, that had defiled her own sister and left her to birth his children. Scared to become leashed to another that she did not want, scared for her companions, all her constellations, all her friends would be subjected to his influence and whims. She would not let that happen. Asteria would never let them fall so low as to be servants. She would gladly accept her fate to know that they were safe.  

Stifling her sobs, she rose with the help of the ever silent Orion. His form now sparkling like a silver cloak at night.  "You can't go to Zeus, Eria..." He tried to reason with her to stay.  

Turning to him Asteria cupped his face in a friendly embrace. "I know, Ri." Wiping the lines of tears from her cheeks, she regarded him with full confidence. "I won't let them hurt you." She looked over her tattoos. "Any of you. Not if I can prevent it." 

"I know that. You've always been good to me--all of us. But that's the least of our problems." He took her hands within his. "It's Zeus's intentions."

“I know what his intentions are.” Asteria laughed, not the deep belly type, but the reluctant one. “Just because I can’t give prophecies and futures like I used to, doesn’t mean I can’t predict a man's intentions.” Her laugh was fading away.

A warning flag to Orion. She was scared. And that terrified Orion. He could count on one hand the number of times in the past millennium that he had seen her like this.  "No. No you don't."

Asteria tilted her head in question at Orion’s now darkened mood.

"After the last time Hermes 'visited', me and a couple other constellations decided to investigate, we only really found out today." Orion swallowed hard. "What we found it was--it wasn't pretty. You're not the first one that he's tried to lure in. He can't actually save you, Eria." He searched her golden eyes. They were almost human minus the colour. He was captivated by them each time she looked at him. But now was not the time to be entranced by his mistress. Friend, he reminded himself. She was so different than the other gods. Though she was a minor one, she still treated those in her domain, her rightful servants, with respect. Something many others disregarded.  

"Fucking Styx? You're kidding me?" She threw her hands up in disbelief. "He's been boasting that he could save our power, our existence if we let him claim us." She started to stomp around the room. Her anger getting the better of her. The other constellations seemed to reach with her emotion. They stirred on her skin, begging to be released so that they could help her.   

"That's not the worst of it-"  

She cut him off. "What could be worse then the 'King of the Gods' lying about a crisis that affects all deities?! This is blasphemous. If the other gods knew they wouldn't stand for this. How could they?" Asteria was fuming with rage pacing back and forth she started to caress her tattoos, trying to calm them and in turn, they calm her. It was a self-defense mechanism. One she's had since he's pledged himself to her.  

"He's been taking their entities."

Asteria went pale. "Do--do the other gods..." She trailed off in horror. If that was correct, that meant that Zeus was feeding off the essence of other gods to fuel himself. That he was not only taking their remaining power but also taking over their domain. If he were to capture every god, goddess and titan left--

"They're helping him."

It was worse than she thought.  "How many?"  she asked, as she awaited an answer she wasn’t sure she truly wanted to know the response to.

"Only the main 12." He looked away in shame.

‘ _ONLY the main 12?!’_ She cursed herself for thinking that the others were oblivious to his actions.

"That's why they're all putting up with his antics. Hera particularly," Orion finished.

"So each new deity he ropes in with his promises and 'charms', just ends up a sick breakfast for them." Asteria scoffed in disgust at how far the gods have fallen. The once mighty ruler. The 'all' powerful Greek gods now forced to be cannibals to survive with a meager existence. Orion merely nodded.  

"Monster." The word hung in the air. For it was the only word to describe such an atrocity and those that committed it against them.

Conflicted, Asteria had to debate how to proceed. She had to warn the other minor gods of the others betrayal. She released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Friends, I call to thee. Hear my pleas and come to my aid. I would request that you warn the others." The tattoos on her body started to shift and move on the skin. "Inform the minor gods of the treachery of the 12. Warn them of their tricks." The constellations leapt from her skin flying through the air, their forms shimmering in the light of the window. "Be safe my friends."

After only an hour, all of her companions had returned but one. Aries. It worried her. She knew that Aries shared the name and temper with the god of war. Asteria touched her arm where Aries laid his stars on her skin, at the empty patch that reminded her of his absence. She knew that he was never one to waver in his loyalty. Still it plagued her thoughts.  

Orion dared not question one of his brethren. He knew not if Aries loyalty laid with Asteria. He only assumed. A dangerous gamble in a game of life.  

In a flash of smoke, her questions were answered. Zeus, dressed in all white, held the ram by his horns. Its neck bent at an unnatural angle, his form flickering from the obvious damage. Asteria wanted to run to her injured friend's side, not carrying in that moment if he'd betrayed her warning to Zeus.  

"Let him go!" she demanded. Zeus laughed and tossed the mangled spectral form at her feet. With a touch of her hand, Aries responded, he regarded her with sorrow and guilt. Orion had his answer to where his loyalty laid: at the feet of the pantheon. But when Orion went to look at Asteria, expecting to see anger and hate behind her golden eyes, he merely saw love and regret. Regret that she wasn't a good enough friend to inspire loyalty. Not a good enough protector for him to be hurt like this. She thought that it was her fault for him being in this position. Her emotion broke Orion's heart. All he wanted was to just hold her and tell it was going to be all right. An action that would overstep his bounds and put a target on his back against Zeus.  

"I thank you, my friend. Please return to the sky and rest. I'm sorry." She cooed in Aries' ear. The Ram merely closed its eyes and drifted back to merge with her skin once again. Filling the last blank space on her left arm.

"Your pet has not been loyal to its master, little Titaness." Zeus sneered at Asteria. His voice booming. "You should be more careful where you send them. You never know where they might end up or who they talk to." As he stalked closer to Asteria, lightning crackled throughout the air.  

Asteria held her ground against the king of the gods. She would not be bullied by him. She would not fear him. Not again. Not ever.  Zeus taking this as a blatant insult raised his hand to strike Asteria. But when the strike came down it made no impact with the goddess of stars, but with her loyal constellation.  

Orion fell to the floor gasping for air. A smite from Zeus was not something you just got up and walked off. It took its toll. "Orion!" Asteria exclaimed, running to hold him in her arms. Shaking his head Hermes sighed.  

"I did  warn you not to interfere, little hunter." Hermes now came from the shadows. His face dark but vigilant.  

Orion started to flicker. His ability to hold his astral projection waning like that of Aries. Asteria held him in her arms, trying to calm him enough to send him back to her skin. "Shhh, friend. I thank thee for thy care. Return to heal, and make sure that none come to my aid."  

"No-" Orion choked out. Before Asteria forced him back to her skin. Something that she had only ever done in protection of her companions. Alone now she looked up to Zeus. Hatred in her eyes.  

"How dare you do this? How dare you hurt them? How dare you try and feed yourself on our essence, you frigging cannibalistic glutton?" She hissed. Zeus casually laughed it off. Flicking his wrist, he sent her flying across the room and slamming into the wall. Sliding down, she met the floor with her face.  

Coughing, she raised herself on her front arms. Her instincts kicking in. Lunging at the god, she summoned two daggers made of darkness and dust to her aid. She slashed at his torso, not aiming to land a killing blow, only to get him off balance.  

Seeing past her tricks, Zeus summoned a bolt of lightning and launched it into Asteria's body. He watched in glee as she started to convulse. The little Titaness that he once spared, even sought after, was now on her knees before him. This little Titaness that ruined his plans and potentially just doomed all the others and himself to die. She was going to pay.

"You are nothing, little star tamer." He bellowed. "You should've taken my offer long ago and spared yourself this pain." He kicked her now fetal-positioned body earning him a cry of pain.  

"I would rather turn to ash!" She spat at him, bloody spit landing on his white shoes.  

"That can be arranged." He chuckled to himself. Picking up the beaten Titaness, he threw her at the TV still running Inquisition. She watched through swollen eyes as he smirked in victory. The world warping and expanding. All Asteria heard was Zeus's laugh and his last words ringing true.  

She didn’t realize that she was falling until she hit the ground with a thud. Her arms and legs felt like lead as they tried to pick her up. "Orion..." She coughed. Blood speckling the ground by her hands. "Shit." Rising from her pathetic position. Her power waning. She looked around to see a long corridor lined with pedestals with a variety of vases and plates on them. At the end of the corridor stood two large oak doors with intricate metal designs on them. Golden handles being the center place. ' _if there's any way to demonstrate power it's in showmanship and having the flashiest stuff_.' She thought. Through those doors, she'd find Zeus, and he would pay. There was no doubt in her mind about that.

Limping her way to the doors, each step made her body ache, but thoughts of revenge kept her going. The titaness knew she was probably not going to survive her encounter with the king of the gods. But if anything she was going to go out with a bang, like the stars she protects. Hopefully, she would take him with her. As she reached the door, a booming voice came from behind the wood, a familiar one she couldn't quite place. "Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice."  

Listening to a new voice, that came to question the booming one. "Why are you doing this? You of all people?" 'Because he wants power', Asteria answered for the voice. That's all Zeus ever wanted. Like a glutton at a feast, he was never satisfied.  

"Keep the sacrifice still." The booming voice ordered. Suddenly the questioning voice screamed.

"Someone help me!" It cried. Knowing that she only had moments to spare Asteria threw open the doors, expecting to see a throne room.  

"Zeus!" She yelled as they opened.  "Or not..." She trailed off unsure and clearly startled. ' _Fuck._ ' There in front of her stood a massive creature its body covered in torn robes and protruding red crystals. The monster held a glowing circular orb and turned to her. She knew him from somewhere. But in the limited seconds she had, she disregarded the feeling and went to aid the questioning voice and an elderly woman who looked like she was in immense pain. "By the Gods! Get away from her!" Asteria exclaimed.

"Run while you can, warn them." She pleaded. ' _Warn who?!'_

"We have an intruder. Kill her. Now" The monster demanded from the armored men and women that stood behind him and at the sides of the woman who spoke before. They were dressed in blue and silver armor, a griffin decorated the steel. 'They look just like a Grey war-'  

"Bloody Styx." She cursed, understanding the situation she was in. Though not the reason behind her arrival into it. Corypheus now distracted with Asteria, the woman- Divine Justina who was bound in chains of light knocked an orb from its grasp and it rolled towards Asteria. Out of instinct, she picked it up, but in hindsight, she should've been more careful.  

The second her hand made contact immense pain shot up from the orb enveloping her arm. It felt like the skin was peeling from her arm. The constellations reacting violently to the power that now flooded through her body. The rippling of their forms now trying to move away from her hand felt like spiders crawling over her skin. Added to the pain from Zeus smite, the transfer of magic, and whatever else she'd injured from her fight, today was not looking like a good start.  

Corypheus yelled in anger at the sight of the orbs power being bestowed on this human. He felt only rage as her screams echoed off the chambers walls. As he went to step closer to her a giant rift formed and swallowed the figure, the orb dropping to the floor where he recovered it. The cold stone with delicate lines decorating it laid dead in his hands. Years of planning wasted in a few precious moments. In his blind anger, he continued with his plan to destroy these idiot mortals attempts at foolish peace. He knew that the only peace they will find is when he brings old Tevinter back to its glory and they will either bow a knee to him or have their heads roll across the floor.  

From Haven, Cassandra looked up the Temple of Sacred Ashes, a sign of hope and peace. She knew she should be getting back to the Divine soon. But Ambassador Montilyet's request for her to personally secure the villages use for the Divine’s security seemed like an important issue. But regardless, Cassandra still felt uneasy about leaving the Divine alone at the temple. She had entrusted her safety to her two best apprentices. She prayed that nothing would occur in her absence.  

Strapping her shield to her back, she prepared for the long trip back up the mountain. How she hated journeying up the blasted thing in full armor. If not for the Divines well-being, she would've left it till tomorrow. The day growing darker as it was.  

Just then a blast of green light erupted from the mountain. Blinded by the light and thrown back by the force of the blast she stumbled, ears ringing. Shouts came from all over. Cries of sorrow and pain layered the air. As she regained her bearings Cassandra looked up the path to the temple, all that remained were blown walls, stone and a massive green scar in the sky. Everything was destroyed. Her heart fell in her chest. The feeling of hopelessness settling in its place.

"Maker help us all." She prayed.  


	2. Lion to the Wrong People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed- dungeon floor. Asteria tries to make sense of Thedas and her inevitable role she's going to play. Cassandra isn't a cat person.

Cassandra had the prisoner watched every second of the day. She would not leave the only person who might provide justification or penance for the breach and the Divines death alone and to their own devices. The girl who'd been said to have stepped out of a rift now laid before her bound and unconscious. She could be no more that 25 years old, though her scars that seemed to disprove that notion. They seemed aged and faded, something scar only did after decades. But how could someone so young have scars like that?

The worst of them was a thick line trailing down her chest over her stomach to the top of her hip. It went diagonally from left to right. The cut seemed to be from a sword but the side suggested something larger and heavier. She also had fractal scarring. That of which she was assured from the enormous amounts of healers she’d sent for, was caused by a lightning strike. Then there were the tattoos

They shimmered and moved unlike anything Cassandra had seen, each one delicately dancing across the prisoners skin. She had heard of mages trying to infuse lyrium or magic into ink for effects like this. But she's only ever heard of one case where the lyrium tattoos worked. The strange designs were simple dots connected to one another but not to all of them. The tattoos were all over her body, torso, legs, back, all except the left arm near the mark. A strange coincidence to say the least.

What could they all mean? Could this be how she had destroyed the conclave? Cassandra sighed, this was all just another piece to add to a growing puzzle.

The prisoner had no calloused hands or chipped nails to tell if she was a soldier or laborer. There was nothing definite about her, every answer had an exception or contradictions. The scars and the hands, the mark and her survival, the clothes and the practicality of them. Both Leliana and Cassandra  agreed that she must be of noble blood, though a fighter. That or very well off. There were signs of injury. Though probably due to the actual explosion, but it was hard to tell. All assumptions were toss-ups at the moment, a shot in the dark. No one giving definite answers.  

All but the elven apostate: Solas. He's seemingly come to them in their hour of need, stating that he could help. And he did. He spent every waking hour with the prisoner, suppressing the hostile magic when even Cassandra's smites failed. He was aloof and calculating, a dangerous combination for those that have impeccable timing and no real motive. But he was proving useful and invaluable to keeping the prisoner alive. Solas also seemed to take the Seeker’s rage in stride. He diffused her anger,directed more at the situation than at him, as easily as fox avoiding the trappers.  

He seemed to regard the girl as curiosity, the tattoos especially. She often caught him mumbling questions to the long silent form. Always receiving no answer.  It was plain to see that it bothered, confused, and motivated him.

She wore strange clothes that Cassandra had never seen. They were made of a soft material similar to a mixture of silk and cotton. The clothes also appeared to do nothing to keep her warm.  

Cassandra would catch her shivering on the floor on rare occasions when she visited. Either out of the kindness of her own 'steeled' heart or the assurance that she would be no use answering questions if she was half dead and frozen solid, Cassandra had one of the guards bring up a larger long-sleeved green coat. The previous owner no longer needing it due to demon attacks. The coat was too big for her, but would help to keep her warm. The temperature of the dungeon was the prisoners least of worries. 

The mark flared again, green light dancing upon the walls of the Chanty's dungeon. Each time the mark reacted with her she cried out in pain, her body jerking in every which direction, attempting to get away. Her markings also reacted to the magic outburst, flaring green, a change from their original dark blue-ish black colour. Each time the apostate was at her side forcing magic into the mark trying to subside it. Stop it from consuming their only suspect.  

"She's going to wake soon, Seeker." The elf stated in monotone. Standing from his kneeling position beside her. He rubbed his hands on his pants and went to make his exit. "The mark needs to be brought to a rift as a test. If we are fortunate, the power that she wields could be used to solve this predicament." He paused looking over the girl.."The less it grow more out of hand, the better." He now turned to regard Cassandra with an even gaze, not bowing his head out of instinct like many elves did. "I'll be at the valley entrance. If--When she wakes, I suggest bringing her there. It might be our only hope."

"Thank you, Solas. We appreciate everything you've done so far." Cassandra said squarely. Solas nodded and left through the door. She watched the guard patrols change twice before the prisoner began to stir. "Get Leliana. Tell her the prisoner is waking." She marched out the door, throwing orders left right and center. "I want an armored force around her when she wakes. Nothing can be left to chance!"  

Asteria awoke to a pain in her left arm and circle of swords pointing at her neck. Her head pounding and limbs aching, she blinked the sleep from her eyes. "What in the god’s name...?" She mumbled as the mark flared again. "Gamiméno theón," (Fucking gods) she cursed in Greek. Raising her bound hand in examination only to see movement catch her eye. In the hue of candlelight, fully armored soldiers with the pointy metal sticks, flinch at her movement. It confused the Titaness at first as to why they had their get-up like that of the old times. For a split second, she had thought it was a reenactment. Something commonplace in modern society. Asteria had participated in multiple over her life. Always favoring a chance to relive her past... to a degree.  

The door burst open and in stepped a tall black haired woman. She had a scar running down the left side of her high cheek boned face. The shadows of the candle casting long shadows over her eyes and making Asteria have to squint to see her full complexion. She gaped at the likeness to the character she loved and befriended. But the frothing rage that rolled off the woman was too realistic for it to be just an act. Where did you get that costume? She almost wanted to ask. Then it all hit her at once. The reality of the situation smacking her like a mace to the face. She was in Dragon Age.  ‘ _Well shit.’_

She watched as Leliana followed closely behind Cassandra. Each one giving off a fierce aura of power and 'I could kill you with a flick of my wrist and a feather'. It was all very intimidating, to say the least.

Cassandra started to circle Asteria, similar to a wolf choosing when to strike at the sacrificial lamb. Cassandra's voice broke the silence. "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now?" Her strong Russian-Nevarran accent coating each word as an obvious threat. "The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead." She halted her dance around Asteria. "Except for you."  

' _This is where I say something right_?' Asteria thought in panic. Her mind racing and overstimulated with all the events taking place. ‘ _What do I do?_ ’ Ideas spun around her head until he glanced back up to Cassandra with a questioning look. The Titaness had taken too long and the Seeker assumed her silence an answer. The dark haired woman took ahold of the Titanesses hand hissing. "Explain this."

Asteria was taken aback. Not knowing how she ended up here or why her memory was all of a sudden foggy and clouded. She didn't remember anything from the conclave. She didn't remember being sent to Thedas. All she could recall was Zeus's rhythmic and sardonic laugh following her. ' _Do I stick to the script? Do I try and actually differentiate from this? What do I do!_?' Her mind was going a mile a minute, each solution coming up with a way for it to go wrong. If she were to change how she responded so would they. ' _The butterfly effect._ ' She concluded. As she was lost in her thoughts, Cassandra's patience was drawing thin. She finally had the opportunity to have answers, any answers. The Seeker wasn't about to let it slip away.  

"Answer me!" Cassandra yelled, her voice cutting through Asterias mindstorm like a knife through butter.  

"Um... ah... well I-" The Seeker glared at her. ' _Sticking to the script... yes that would be good.. Maybe.._ ' She gulped. "I can't..." Asterias voiced wavered.  

"What do you mean you can't?!" Cassandra started to pace before the Titan again. Her eyes never leaving Asteria’s, constantly looking for answers that Asteria had, but couldn't voice.  

"I don't know how it got there." ' _Is that the right line?_ ' Asteria was second guessing herself. A habit she carried over through the ages. ' _Wasn't there something more I was supposed to say?'._ "Or what it is." She added.

Cassandra pounced grabbing the jacket’s front. The force of her hands pushing against Asteria’s chest made her fall back. Leliana now decided to make her presence known and intervened. Pulling Cassandra off the prisoner's chest, she separated the two by a couple meters. Leliana wanted answers as much as Cassandra did and she knew that this girl was the only chance they had.  

She too mourned Justinia. They had both failed their duties that day, leaving the Divine unprotected. A foolish mistake that Leliana was eager to make penance for in any way. Legal or other. She had questioned herself every night as she tried to sleep while the screams of demons and the chill from the breach loomed in the air. _'What could I have done?' 'What if we had been there?' 'What if I had been there?_ '. All questions only spurring her on to find more answers, justification. Unlike Cassandra though, Leliana was able to contain what she felt, place a neutral mask over each tear and mournful cry her soul made. A skill she had learnt well from Marjolaine and her bard training. A skill that if not perfected, meant death. A skill that Cassandra had not yet grasped.  

Leliana saw the anger resonating off of Cassandra whenever the prisoner was brought up. Not knowing any information, a name, a birth location, any record of existence only added to her rage and ferocity.   

"We need her, Cassandra." Leliana stated. Now it was Asteria’s turn if she followed the game. Did she want to be angry, clueless, emotional , stoic, good? All had their drawbacks and advantages. She opted for the clueless response.   

"I don't understand." Not a total lie. She had no idea how she got here. No memory of what had happened, no idea how to proceed. She was surprised that none of her companions had sprung up to defend her. But given that the smite she received from Zeus, they probably weren't inclined, or too dazed, to come out.  

"Do you remember what happened? How this began?"

Trying to recall the playthroughs while combining with what she thought she knew. Flashes of a tall hill with jagged rocks rose to the surface, stairs leading up to a light, something nipping at her heels. A shaped figure reaching out for her, another flash then nothing.

"I don't know exactly. I remember a light, pain, running from something behind me and then climbing. A lot of damned climbing, not my most favorite thing in the world." The look Leliana gave her said she didn't care, which to be fair is a just reaction given the topic at hand. "… Also a... a woman."

"A woman?" Leliana questioned. She seemed to ignore the other rambles aside from that little key fact. Or what could pass for one in this moment. She clung to the thought that it could be what the soldiers had said, Andraste. But dismissed every notion as heresy... but this made her question her original feeling.  

"She reached out to me." Leliana searched my eyes looking for anything more that this girl could provide. "That's all, after that there's a light and then I woke up here."

Cassandra now lead the bard away from the prisoner. "Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift." The spymaster nodded and left swiftly through the door. Seeing this as a sign that Asteria had not yet screwed up the timeline she prepared to fight her way to the beach.  

The seeker now approached her bound hands and undid the shackles that restrained them, only to have a rope replace the cold metal. They walked the halls of the chantry, passing dagger-filled gazes from preachers and prayers all the same. A few spat the ground as she walked by. ' _You'd think they'd have more respect than to actually spit on ‘holy’ ground.'_  

As the wooden doors of the chantry opened wide and the two stepped out, Asteria got a glimpse of the terror of the breach upon the snowy landscape of the former Sacred Temple. It was bright and flashing. The game did it no justice in its intensity and size. The skies were scarred with the green light, clouds circling it like a hurricane and the sun not needed in its presence. The very idea that Asteria was fated to close it made her shudder. The Titaness wanted to run, to escape this destined role, she didn't want to be in the spotlight, let alone become the Herald or Inquisitor. Though she knew better than to play with fate and chance. It never ended well when they were trifled with.  

"We call it the breach. It's a massive rift into the world of demons, that grows larger at each passing hour. " Cassandra looked up into the green abyss. The proof of her failure in her sworn duty. A duty to her faith, a duty to a friend, her duty to her heart. She turned to face the prisoner. "It's not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the conclave." She began to walk towards the prisoner. Her face taken aback at the devastation and size of the breach.  

"All caused by an explosion." The prisoners gaze fell.

"Yes, at least this one did. Unless we act the breach may grow until it swallows the world." The breach gave a flash of magic. It reacted with Asteria’s hand causing it to flare in pain. She dropped to the ground clutching it, grunting at the sharp pricks and electricity she felt. The large green coat and rope making it hard for her to actually support it. Asteria quickly thought to her companions. Was this hurting them? Was the pain she felt now affecting them in any way? The questions started to take flight.

“I need to get this off.” Asteria stated gesturing to the jacket. She needed to make sure that they were okay. That whatever Zeus did to them, hadn’t actually caused them pain. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself knowing she put them in harm's way. Another flare of the breach brought Asteria to her knees before Cassandra could question her demand.

"Each time the breach expands, your mark spreads... and it is killing you." She crouched down to be at eye to eye level with Asteria. "It may be the key to stopping this. But there isn't much time."

“Help me get this jacket off first...please.” The Seeker was confused by her request. Why would she deny something that would obviously keep her warm? Another mystery, another question to be answered. Though the thought that this might be an escape attempt did cross Cassandra's mind. It would be easier for her to disappear into the crowd here in Haven. At least in the valley she could be tracked.

“After we reach the edge of Haven.” Cassandra reasoned. Taking that as her only chance to actually check on them, Asteria nodded.

"Just point me in the right direction and say go." She gave a little cheeky smile.

Cassandra nodded and helped the prisoner to her feet and pushed her forward. Leading her through Haven was tricky, she tried to avoid the majority of the crowd for fear of how they'd react to the one 'guilty' as they see it being lead away. The Seeker also kept close eyes on the girl as well. Fearing she would disappear in an instant. But as she watched the girl Cassandra noted her behaviour: eyes low and she avoided the onlookers gazes as if they could kill. Though her head was held high, she gave no notion of bowing it. It was more out of respect of her own integrity that she kept this position. Succumbing to their looks yet never faltering in her own pride.  

Feeling as if she needed more an explanation Cassandra chipped in, "They have decided your guilt. They need it."

"You don't say." She heard her mumble under her breath. They had reached the edge of the village. Now following a stone ridden path up the mountain.

"The people of Haven mourn our most holy, Divine Justinia, Head of the Chantry. The conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and Templars."

"She brought their leaders together, and now all sides, neutral included, are dead." The prisoner concluded plainly.  

"Yes."

"Let me guess, they are lashing out now. Kind of like the breach?" Asteria added. She knew she should let Cassandra do the explanation, but it was dragging on a bit. They now had come to a clearing up at the top of a hill. There stood two massive doors enclosed by a stone arch. If she remembered correctly there was a bridge on the other side. Was it now or later on when the bridge collapsed? Her memory was never the most reliable, centuries tend to wear it down. No one remembers everything, immortals are no different.

"Correct. Though we must think beyond ourselves as she did." The doors opened and they walked across the bridge. Asteria weary of every step she made. Something Cassandra took notice of right away. "Until the breach is sealed, we are at a disadvantage." Taking a knife from a hidden pocket she cut the ropes from the prisoner's hands.

Asteria rubbed the raw skin of her wrist before hastily ripping off the jacket. She quickly examined herself, rolling up her sleeves and pant legs. Checking to make sure each of her companions were still here, still okay. She noted that they had all moved away from her left arm, away from the mark. It was understandable given the situation. It was foreign magic that had embedded itself onto her. Of course they were going to be wary of it. The connection that the designs had to her companions was weak, but remained closed. Probably due to being thrust into a world where their own constellations didn’t rule the skies and her battle with Zeus.

“What are those tattoos of?” The question brought asteria back to earth-Thedas.

“Constellations.” She stated honestly. There was no use in trying to lie to Cassandra. Asteria had full intentions of making sure the constellations were able to actually see Thedas. A world that they could only watch. It still seemed too good to be true for the Titaness.

“I see.” Cassandra paused. She didn’t expect such a straight answer from the girl. Perhaps she was stalling? Shaking off the millions of questions that she had the Seeker decided to at least return her honesty with a warning. "There will be a trial. I can promise no more. Come, it's not far."

"Great. Onward bound it is then." Asteria chipped in, dusting the snow off the jacket. It was something to keep her warm at the very least. Something that could act as a form of a barrier in the approaching fights.

"Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach." Cassandra stated plainly. That meant they were on their way to meet Solas and Varric.

‘ _The liar who broke my heart and the storyteller whose heart was never mine’ Asteria sighed. ‘Similar but different’._ Cassandra called for the gates to be opened as they began to run up the hill. Why so much running? Asteria was in good shape, but this was overkill. The weight added on by the sweater and the cold wind blowing her back did nothing stop the fire forming in her calves..  

As she ran up the path the breach expanded as did the mark on her hand. She fell to her knees again, the snow crunching beneath her legs. She clutched her hand in pain. Her forehead resting on the snow. Her black hair pooled around her shoulders, her breathing heavy with exhaustion and frustration.  

Cassandra rushed to the fallen girls side. "The pulses are coming faster now," she stated, helping the girl to her feet. "The larger the breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face."

Asteria nodded her thanks and understanding, flipping the hair covering her eyes. The pain the anchor caused her wasn't the worst she's faced. But it was one of the most painful things she'd experienced in recent ages. She admits she's grown soft. She understands that the modern and industrialized life has done this to humanity. But this is change, not always for the better, but change nonetheless. Searching her pants pocket she finds a single black elastic. ' _Small miracles, small miracles.’_ She put her hair up into a ponytail, her face neutral.

Once the two had reached the doors of the bridge Asteria halted. She knew the bridge was going to collapse. She knew that they’d be caught in the avalanche of rubble. Where she’d end up at the bottom of a small valley with the weapon of choice at the bottom. Along with two shades aching to attack.

“Why have we stopped? We must push on to the rift. It is our only chance to seal the breach.” Cassandra said irritably. She was right, they needed to get to the rift. But if they could bypass the bridge collapsing, then that was one less thing they could worry about.

“I’m-I’m afraid of bridges.” She lied. “Is there anyway around the bridge?” Asteria asked innocently. The Seeker scoffed.

“It would take us longer to go that way. The breach is more pressing than irrational fears. We press on.” She stated taking the lead. They were halfway across when a large green ball came smashing down. Turning the once stable brick to nothing more than rubble.

They both tumbled down, hitting the ice below them. Cassandra got to her feet fast enough to see another green ball come crashing down onto the ice. Thanking the Maker it didn’t shatter she prepared to face the demons that followed such crashes.

Asteria was not so lucky. Once she regained her composure she tried to stand only to find her leg pinned under rubble. ‘ _This isn’t supposed to happen.’_ She panicked. “Stay behind me.” she heard the Seeker order as she charged the newly summoned shade.

“That’s not really an option for me.” She cried out sarcastically. Moving to get a better look she saw that he left foot was only cover with a couple boards and a large rock. ‘ _Gods make sure my legs not crushed. That’d take time to heal, time we don’t have the pleasure of.’_  Asteria tried pushing the debris out of the way, but with the timing of the game and reality coinciding. She looked side her to see the ground beginning to bubble. “For fuck’s sake.” She cursed with the knowledge that she couldn’t defend herself and that Cassandra was too busy to come to her aid. “Leo, I call to thee to aid me. Hear my plea and lend me your claws.” She begged.

Suddenly the constellations began to glow. The eight stars of Leo lifted from her skin and materialized in front of her. Leo’s spectral shimmering form gave a roar that shook the very ground dazing the shade temporarily. Seeing this as its chance, Leo pounced on the attacker. The shade responded with a fury of claws trying to make purchase with Leo’s coat. The lion dodged the incoming attack moving to keep the shades attention but to also draw it away from his friend. Raising a paw he brought it down to make contact with the shades torso. Leaving the shade in ribbons.

It was at this time that Cassandra had also finished off with her shade. She had heard the roar but focused on defeating her target. Now that the foul thing had been sent back to the void where it belonged she turned to see a huge lion the size of a druffalo with the prisoner in it’s jaws.

“Not today, demon!” She lunged at the lion. It turned on a dime to face dropping the now freed form and giving off a powerful roar that was cut short as he regarded his next adversary.

“Stop!!” Asteria yelled knowing exactly how this was going to play out She tried frantically to get the Seekers attention. “He’s not a demon.” Leo shifted into a defensive position guarding the now standing Asteria. Just because the woman he now face looked like the lady from her game didn’t mean he’d let his guard down. Cassandra lunged again. Leo parried her strike and thwacked her upside the head with his tail. Asteria jumped in front of the lion, facing him, taking up all his attention.“Leo listen to me, she’s not the enemy.” He ignored her and dodged to continued his assault. Panicked, Asteria tried to release his hold here. “I thank you for your service, please return to whence you came.”

The lion roared in protests and stopped his advances. He did not retreat to her skin like she asked. He remained standing pawing at the ground, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Cassandra took this as an opportunity. She was about to go in for a shield bash when two daggers the colour of night blocked her strike, knocking Cassandra to the side.

“Enough!” Asteria exclaimed.

“What manner of magic is this?” The Seeker questioned, not lowering her shield. The glimmering beast snorted and turned its head to the prisoner. Was she controlling it somehow? “Did you summon it?”

“It’s- um… ya, it’s old magic and I asked him to help me not get torn to ribbons by a shade.” She rested a hand on the beast mane. “He graciously obliged.” Cassandra didn’t believe her so innocent.

“You think me simple? Demons do not ‘oblige’, they deceive and trick.” Cassandra sneered. The magic used to summon a beast--a demon like this always came at a price. She examined the girl's body for any intentional cuts or lesions that might prove some insight. Though she spotted no fresh marks.

“I know I'm asking you to take a lot on faith, but he didn’t hurt me or you. He’s here to protect me.” Asteria tried to get the Seeker to see reason. Leo was only a danger to her enemies. A claw in the right organ could drop any adversary in seconds. But the look of Cassandra: the distrust and blatant disregard for her reasoning were clear. “Fine you win.” She said solemnly. “Leo I thank you for your service. Please return to whence you came and send my regards to Orion. I request to speak with him at his next possible moment,” Her eyes looked over to the regarding warrior. “That’s appropriate,” Asteria concluded.

The Seeker wanted to head off any attempts in the future to summon further. But, before she could, the beast dissolved before the Cassandra’s eyes. It’s starry form retracting back to the prisoners skin to form another tattoo. Cassandra’s eyes opened in realization. “Those designs, they’re spirits.” she stood bewildered. Asteria nodded. She needed to get away from the topic. She would gladly spend the day explaining to the warrior the technicalities, myth, and facts behind her friend's markings, but they didn’t have the time.

“I should do best to remember you agreed to come willingly.” She paused still trying to ‘wake herself up’ from the shock and make sense of the situation.. “We should continue on. Do you have any weapons?” She questioned.

“Yeppers.” Two daggers the colours of night were summoned to her defense. “Travó and Spróxte. Forged them myself.” She turned the blades over in her hands. How she had crafted them puzzled Cassandra. They looked as if they were made of the void itself. Nothing about this girl was simple.

“I take it you can use them then?”

“Is the sky blue?” Asteria asked with a cocky grin, that then flashed with realization. “Well… I guess green…?”

Cassandra made a disgusted noise and carried on up the hill handing the girl potions. When they reached the top the girl went off for a couple seconds staggering to harvest elfroot and iron. She was favouring her right leg. Something that would not do in the coming battles. “Take a potion.” She ordered.

“We’ll - we might need them up further though.” She reasoned with her. But Cassandra was having none of it. She couldn’t hold off a horde of shades and demons trying to protect an injured mage. It wasn’t practical.

“No. Drink.” The girl reluctantly obliged, drinking an entire one in a single gulp. Her coughing fits afterwards deeming that she had no idea the potions bitter taste.

“What in the god's name do you guys put in that thing?” She wheezed. “I haven’t had something that strong since... Well- never mind.” They waited for a minute or two for the potion to kick in. And it did in fact kick. Asteria was wheezing and coughing as they crested the hill. Her foot looked better and she was trying to displace her weight evenly, but the coughing fits were throwing her off balance. Not a good combo as they fought their way past the two shades they were ‘supposed’ to flank. Heavy air quotes on supposed. It turned into a shit show as Cassandra dropped down to distract them, and Asteria come up from behind to take them by surprise only to keel over trying to cough up a lung.

Cassandra thought all hope was lost in trying to keep the prisoner alive as the shades turned on the new presence. But she can say that she was honestly surprised at how well the girl fought with her blades. She dodged every attack with a level of grace not seen in the average soldier. Her strikes were calculated and purposeful, and she was aware completely of her injury. Something that could only be done through mastering your weapons battle form and years upon years of training and experience. Something that didn’t fit with the girl’s age.

The battle finished quickly, and Asteria collected all the coin and elfroot she could remember. Cassandra scolding her for wasting precious time. ‘ _She’s right, though, this is reality, not some game. There are no time triggers for a cutscene or battle. I have to assume everything is going to happen as fast as fucking possible.’_ Asteria noted.

They defeated the stupid shade and wisp on the hill next. The Titaness still throwing coughing fits every now and then. The Seeker was concerned and asked her if she could still continue. Only receiving a nod and the prisoner leading on.

 The next battle went seamlessly. The warrior and the Titaness adapting to each other's fighting techniques. Asteria would duck in, strike a couple of times and retreat, allowing Cassandra to take the stunned target down permanently. Both surprised at how well they worked together.

Asteria stopped as soon as the last shade fell to the ground. She looked up the stairs they were going to climb. Three questions crossed her mind: _‘Am I going to have to frigging climb those? Will Solas be able to sense that my tattoos aren’t of this world? And why won’t she stop coughing?’_

“Are you well?” Cassandra questioned.

“Oh yeah, just peachy.” She gave a thumbs up only to receive a raised brow. “Figure of speech.”

“I see.” She looked up the stairs. You could hear the metal on metal as those above them fought for their lives. They needed to press on. They had wasted too much time as it was. Every second could be another's life. A life they couldn’t afford to lose. “We’re getting closer to the rift. You can hear the fighting.”

“Who exactly is fighting?” Asteria tried to feign innocence.

“You’ll see soon. We have to help them.” Without another word the Seeker turned and started up the giant set of snow-covered stairs. Leaving Asteria to bring up the rear, all too happy to have to make the trek up those stairs...

Asteria hated climbing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated a day ahead of what I thought, not bad eh? 
> 
> Hey guys, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who left a comment or kudos on the last chapter. They were really big factors in keeping me motivated to update. I also saw a lot of people enjoyed Orion. It touches my heart to see all of this, each little word, hit, and heart means the world to me 
> 
> Well enough of the sappy stuff, if you guys want to offer any ideas feel free to either leave a comment or message me on my Tumblr : The-Queen-of-Thedas (Yes original I know lol.)


	3. Red Herrings and Spectral Mother Hens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asteria meets Solas and Varric... Asteria has some fun with an illusion spell and starts to weave a web of lies. A great first impression.

As they climbed the stairs, the sound of metal on metal became almost deafening. The two crested the hill and Asteria spent no time admiring the battle going on or the view from their now higher position. The spells and bolts being flung throughout the battlefield; she dove right in, daggers and teeth bared, coughing like a chain smoker.   

The soldiers seemed to welcome the aid the battlefield. The new arrivals reduced the pressure of the oncoming assault. Varric was the first to notice their presence, however.

He saw the Seeker’s shining armor from the top of the hill as she charged headlong into battle directly behind a wheezing human, that looked almost ready to keel over from a coughing fit. A human that Varric assumed was the 'dreaded' prisoner that apparently blew up the conclave and stepped out of the fade. Not the best way to make an entrance, but he would need to give her points for showmanship.

Varric and Bianca released a string of bolts into the shades, trying their best to actually keep the shades at bay. Or at least enough from Chuckles. Varric still wasn't sure what to think about the elf. Sure he was a capable mage, probably beyond that.  He also conveniently knew a shit load about the fade. A subject that Varric had no experience in, that kind of went hand in hand with the whole 'Dwarf' thing. But he had to consider the timing that the elf had appeared. No one had that good of timing; it was as if he'd been written for the untimely character to come at the right moment to help fix the world. That alone made him far too suspicious.

A shade trying to flank him drew him from his thoughts. As he raised his magnificent crossbow to meet the demons charge, a streak of black and white crossed his eyes. The shade sunk back into the ground and in its wake stood the prisoner. She wore the jacket he'd recovered from one of the fallen soldiers in the valley. But it did nothing to hinder her movements as she gracefully danced around the field slashing and dodging incoming strikes with two glowing daggers. Her body flexed as she nimbly parried the claws of the demons. A smile of how utterly free she was plastered on her face at each strike. _'If only she knew just how trapped she was....'_ Varric thought grimly.

The last shade fell and Solas called out for the mark, his mark to seal the rift. He knew that the magic was still unstable like that of the breach. It taunted him. The understanding that he had failed, miscalculated, it pushed him harder. The elf had wanted to leave, scared and distraught. The mark was consuming the girl’s arm, even his magic suppressing it would only have lasted for so long. But no more. As he reached for her hand, directing it to the rift, he channeled his own mana into the mark teaching it how to close the rifts. "Quickly before more come through!"

Asteria raised her hand, allowing Solas to take in within his own. A proud moment for any Solavellan. If not for the adrenaline and rush of the battle, she would be blushing and smiling like any idiot who just met their fictional obsession. ' _I kind of wish I could screenshot this.'_ As he yelled his typical line about sealing the rift, Asteria felt magic press into her and come out through her mark. It flared in response. Power shot through her. She felt her companions marks retaliate in response, their colour turning from the darker blue-ish black to green. The power from her hand built up until the rift closed and she retracted the anchor to her chest.  

Her hands went straight to her body, looking over the tattoos, watching as their familiar color returned and the green disappear. _'Please don't let them be hurt.'_ She begged.

Turning to the others that were now staring she remembered her line "What did yo-" She was cut off by an unexpected cough. Followed by another coughing fit. ' _Not the best way to make a first impression genius.'_ She cursed herself _._  

The fit had her hands supporting her chest and her throat soon raw. Her asphyxiation caused her companions to grow alarmed. Waving Solas over to her, she struggled to string together a few words. "I need- favour."  She gestured towards Solas hands. He raised an eyebrow refusing to move. With a huff and another pathetic attempt at communication she pointed to her hands.

Nodding in understanding he gingerly held them out unsure of what her intent was. Taking up his hand, yes Solas's hand, a moment any fangirl would die to be in, _'Well, I guess you could say I'm dying.'_ She thought placing his hand on her neck. "Heal -please." With a slight nod, a faint blue light erupted from his skin, coating Asteria neck in soothing warmth. She could feel the swelling going down. The relief of being able to breathe normally was not lost on her.  

Seeing that his work was done, Solas retracted his hands from the girl's throat. She'd been having an allergic reaction, he was no expert healer, but he could tell that is was deadly. "Thank you." She managed to regain her composure.  

"What happened?" Cassandra asked. both furious and concerned.

"She was suffering from an allergic reaction. To what, though, I can't tell," Solas answered.

"Probably the elfroot in the health potion I chugged," Asteria added. still trying to regain her breath.  

The Seeker’s jaw tightened, knowing that she was the who encouraged her to drink it. "If I would have known-"

"You did what you thought was right. No blame here." Asteria held up her hands as if to surrender before turning to look back at Solas. "Besides, let's carry on since I'm not going to keel over now. What did you do?"

"I-I did nothing. The credit is yours." Solas stated still observing the strange human. How had she jumped straight from the edge of suffocation back to the Breach in a single breath? It was perplexing.  

"You sure about that?" Asteria let slip. Solas raised an eyebrow at the comment.  

"Quite so." He paused regarding her, "Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake – and it seems I was correct."

“Meaning it could also close the Breach itself,” Cassandra asked, walking up to the two apostate’s sides.  

"Possibly," Solas stated. He folded his hands behind his back watching both the humans’ expression darken at the weight of his comment. He turned to face the tattooed human, his hands still clasped behind his back. "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."  

Asteria merely nodded. She had lived through enough to know the weight those words and the realization that they were not only a boon but a great burden as well. "With great power comes great responsibility." She muttered under her breath almost cracking a grin before casting a glance down to her left palm. So used to seeing Libra or Cygnus dancing upon her knuckles only to have the flash of fade magic blind her sight. ' _Just something I'm going to have to adapt too...'_

"Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever." Varric retorted sauntering up the Seeker and company. The little Titaness turned at the sound of his voice. A smile creeping up her features but quickly shot down in favor of neutrality. The slight upturn of her mouth gave her away, though. "Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." He gave a wink to the Seeker only to receive a disgusted scowl.  

Asteria could barely contain her excitement. _'They did the thing! The whole 'disgusted noise' thing!'_ It was purely adorable and the Titaness was putting all her will power forward not to bounce up and down with joy or to just plain swoon. Yes, swooning now would be bad.

Looking around she noticed all her would-be companions regarding her with a leveled gaze, waiting for her input or acknowledgment.  "Oh shit, I'm supposed to ask something here..." She rambled to herself. "Um.. You’re with the Chantry right?"

"Was that a serious question?" Solas chuckled, unable to contain his amusement with the question. By any standard, the durgen'lin was far from what this ages considered truly devout. He suspected the dwarf had some faith in the humans absent 'god', but not enough for him to sit at an altar and whisper soft prayers to an empty throne.  

Trying hard not to blush at his adorable laugh, Asteria turned her full attention to the dwarf as he continued to speak.  

"Technically I’m a prisoner, just like you."

"I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine. Clearly that is no longer necessary." Cassandra stated grimly. The dwarfs stories would only fall on deaf ears and the ashes that now laid scattered throughout the valley.

"Yet, here I am. Lucky for you, considering current events." Varric fiddled with his gloves, hoping that they could move onto a lighter subject if remotely possible in the shitstorm that now enveloped them. Taking the hint, Asteria rang out with one of her favourite pieces of dialogue.

“That’s… a nice crossbow you have there.” She had always admired the relationship he had with his weaponry... though upon meeting Bianca in-game,  the Titaness kind of found the reason she couldn't romance the majestic chest to fall flat against expectations.  

"Ah, isn’t she? Bianca and I have been through alot together.” Varric looked back at his only worldly possession. How he depended on her, how he knew every inch of where the wood met metal.  

"Let's hope she'll be great company in the valley," Asteria smiled to the dwarf.  

“Absolutely not!” Cassandra exclaimed marching up to the dwarf. "Your help is appreciated, Varric, but…"

“Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker?" Varric cut off. "Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore. You need me." Cassandra made another disgusted noise only fueling Asteria's on going fangirl episode. She walked away from the dwarf a scowl fresh on her lips and a patch of snow just waiting for her to pace on it.  

Now that the situation regarding the dwarfs aid had been settled Solas inserted himself between the retreating warrior and the child of the stone. "My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I’m pleased to see you still live."  

“He means, ‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept,'” Varric added. This was the part where Asteria could fish for 'Solas Slightly Approves', should she be doing that? Was it morally wrong to use her knowledge like this? A way to manipulate her could be friends? Asteria held many morals, a disdain for slavery being one of the many, but was the manipulation of people she had only ever met on a screen one of them...?

"You know about the mark?" The questioned earned a smile from the elf. So the girl was curious about the power she now had. An obvious conclusion that she'd wanted to know more about the magic that was enveloping her. Admirable, yet it was not something Solas typically associated with most mages of any race in this age. Many were content to just live and die without ever knowing the truth behind the history, behind the magic, behind the mystery.

"Like you, Solas is an apostate," Cassandra added from behind them. So that confirmed it. Asteria was considered a mage. Though she had little doubt they'd pin her down as one due to the magic origin of her tattoos and her daggers. The magic that she had, Asteria supposed, was similar to both necromancy and knight enchanter or, at least, that's how she was planning on explaining them and her daggers.  

"Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra. My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage." Solas stated smugly. It was true, though, he had far more experience than any mortal. How could they contend with the sheer amount of wisdom he could attain in centuries when they had mere decades. ' _Just another shred of evidence as to how far we've fallen...'_ Just another regret he could add to his list. "I came to offer whatever help I can give with the Breach. If it is not closed, we are all doomed regardless of origin."

"You’re preaching to the choir." The Titaness snorted, but quickly stifled it for favour of a more serious tone."I mean, what will you do once it's closed?"

"One hopes that those in power will remember who helped, and who did not."  

"They seldom see past their thrones to care." The girl muttered back, drifting back to a darker shadow of her mind. Her remaining kin on their knees begging for their freedom. Asteria refusing to kneel before the gods she put on their thrones. She was done fearing those in power, done cowering like a maimed dog, done having the blame shifted to her. The Titaness and her kin had already proved their worth, their freedom, their loyalty. They would not be treated as a traitor's the gods thought all Titans were. ' _Best not dwell.'_ She remembered Orion once saying when she slipped into her spiral of self-loathing. Shaking her head she gave the apostate a smile.  

"Indeed." Solas nodded at the prisoner, then turned to regard the  warrior. "Cassandra, you should know: the magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is a mage, but I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power.” '~ _Liar, Liar, foot wrappings on fire~'_ Asteria wanted to sing. He was blatantly lying. He could easily see it, Solas was meant for the power. A power that was meant to be harnessed by a mage and a 'god' at that. It was a miracle in Asteria's mind/ headcanon that any non-magical inquisitor could actually harness, let alone control the anchor. Even Asteria was wary of the magic at play here, it was different than on earth, more potent, but its relative form and physics almost identical.  

“Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly.” Cassandra and Solas left together, Seeker leading. Varric then turned to face a now grime Titaness.  

“Well, Bianca’s excited!” She watched them walk over the path leading down the hill. Asteria looked around the clearing, she knew there was a spare staff or dagger around here. Walking around the rubble and corpses, she found an abandoned staff amidst the debris. "Hey, Solas!" She called out. "Catch!" She threw the staff to him. The apostate caught it and examined the wood.  

"Ma serannas." He thanked, earning him a wink from the Titaness. She jumped over the boards blocking the path and followed close behind the three.  

"This way, down the bank. The road ahead is blocked.” Cassandra lead the way.

"We must move quickly.” Solas quipped.  

They moved through the valley at impeccable speed, defeating demons and wraiths all the same. The only stops they made were when Asteria felt the odd and old compulsion to loot the fallen corpses for gold. Something that would seem morally wrong given the circumstances, but only frowned upon by her companions for wasting time. ' _Oh, how the worlds have changed.'_ Going through a dead man's pockets on modern day earth would earn her a jail sentence or at least a cop’s suspicion. But back when Persia and Greece were still in their prime, it was not seen as a problem. To many it was considered dishonorable, but to others, it was a livelihood. But now, the ages have made people soft, expectant of overproduction, and greedy. Here in Thedas, it was if she was almost back in her youth. An unsettling, yet comforting, realization.

They had cleared out the smoldering house and now made their way to the stairs yes, I know, bloody stairs) before Varric piped up. “So I take it you’re from the Free Marches?" _Shit._ Asteria knew that they'd be curious as to where she'd come from. The strange girl with magical tattoos and a magically flaring mark that can close the hole in the sky that spews demons must've come from somewhere. Right?

"Maybe." She baited, "Can't you tell by my accent? I’ve heard you’ve got a good ear." She winked at him.

"And good hands too." He winked back. "but now you're just being cruel. Ansburg? Ostwick? This is going to bother me.” Asteria let out a laugh.

"Who knows, maybe I'm from Kirkwall."  

"I think I'd recognize you. A human was a bunch of glowing tattoos, they tend to stand out. It was hard enough to keep Broody from lighting up Darktown. I think we would've stumbled upon you at some point in time." He laughed as Asteria looked over to Solas who was quietly listening, an unamused look graced his features. She had an idea. It was easier to keep him guessing then for him to puzzle her out, and red herrings were always an ace up the sleeve. Especially with illusion magic...

"Who ever said I was human?" Asteria baited once again, a smile threatening her features. Only glancing over to see Solas perk up at the comment.  

"Well, you're the tallest dwarf I've ever seen then." Varric joked, earning him a disgusted noise from Cassandra.  

"You're not human I take it then," Solas asked quietly, his volume not betraying his interest in the subject. Asteria lifted her hair from around her ears and visualized pointed tips. It was the same spell she used to change her constellations from an obvious glittering nebula to realistic and varying human skin or animal fur. She heard Cassandra give a small gasp.

"You're an elf!" She commented somewhat amazed. "I've never seen this type of magic before."

"An illusion spell," Asteria said truthfully. "I use it so much, I barely notice that I have it activated." She released the spell and her ears shifted once again to their rounded edges.

"Fascinating," Solas commented while climbing yet another set of stairs. "Where did you find such spells?" He had truly never seen magic like this before. Even in Arlathan the idea of tricking the eye to perceive something that wasn't there was only a theory. It would take incredible skill and focus to be able to bend the fade to your will allowing you to actually manipulate the skin. How this girl had done what _true_ Elvhen could not, confused and amazed him.  Could he have miscalculated the skills of those now? Or was she an outlier?

They had almost reached the halfway point of the stairs, thank the gods, but Solas still expected an answer, at least to one of his questions. 

"The fade." She paused. "I was looking through ancient libraries and um.. I came across a particular tome. It basically just gave me the idea..." She trailed off. Unsure of where she was going to take the lie. ' _Probably should've planned this out better...'_ She noted. Would it be worth it to tell them that she had created the magic, that she had fabricated it? She could throw in some fade mumbo jumbo and people would buy it. As she looked to the others they seemed to either disregard the entire conversation or just nod. Solas the only one was paying any attention.  A dream come true for the Titaness, just not in this situation.   

"You'll have to regale me with that memory. Not many mages are inclined to look to the fade for knowledge. You have surprised me, da'len." ' _He called me da'len!'_ Asteria was beaming ear to ear. 

_"_ Ma nuvenin." She returned trying to control her expression. Solas picked up on her use of Elvhen right away. They finally reached the top of the stairs. In the clearing stood another batch of demons. Two greater shade, two lesser shade, and a wraith. Not the hardest bunch to take down, but time-consuming in the least.  

Cassandra and Asteria took point, charging in to attack the two lesser shades while Varric and Solas dealt with the greater. Leaving the wraith; it would be an annoyance for now until one of them could actually deal with its attacks, but it was still avoidable.   

Bashing the shades with her shield, Cassandra allowed the Titaness to seize and opening. Dashing behind the dazed demons, Asteria plunged her daggers into one of the demons backs. It let out a roar of pain as it spun to face her.  

She glancing over to Varric and Solas and saw that they were trying desperately to fend off the greater shades and the wraiths incoming blows. Solas's barriers a constant blessing whenever the shades closed in on them. Asteria nodded to the Seeker, who was battling her own shade.

"Cassandra I've got these two!" She yelled to her companion. Cassandra nodded in acknowledgment and left to aid the others. Asteria began to circle the monsters, calculating her next move, all the while dodging impulsive strikes. She was making her way around the demons, blades ready; when a blast of magic hit her hard in the back sending her flying face-first into the snow. "Bloody Styx!" She cursed, rubbing her head and from the impact, her blades littered beside her. As she tried pull herself up from the ground, pain shot through her left arm, but not from the mark. ‘ _For the gods sake!’_ She wanted to cry out. Again she was hurt, a spectacular turn of events given that just seemed to press the issue of her having the shitiest luck today. ‘ _This is what I get for sitting on my ass for a century. Stupid body can’t even take love tap let alone a fight.’._ “Pathetic.” She spat.

She was an easy target for the lesser shades and the main target of the wraith. The three demons took their new opening and closed in on her. Scrambling to reach for her blades with her good arm, a claw came in and knocked her back and jutting into her jacket. Laying in the snow she watched through blurred eyes as two tall dark figures approached her. Their talons aimed for her neck.

Asteria couldn't raise her blade fast enough to defend herself from the incoming strike. _‘Anybody help please!’_ She wanted to yell but time was not on her side, it never was. The world seemed slow as the claw came down to make contact with her skin, she waited for the pain that they would bring when suddenly a form blocked the strike.  

Orion hissed in pain as the claws dug deep into the shimmering skin. Silver liquid now emerging from the newly-made gash along his chest. The shade brought it's claws up once again for another strike. But Asteria had regained her balance and jumped to her feet. Blade in hand, she darted at the demon and sliced it across the chest causing it to fall to the ground and dissipate.

 The Titaness now danced around her friend, to slash the other shade in its side earning her the victory of the beasts cry. Baiting the demon towards Orion, while she flanked the monster though careful to avoid it cornering her on her left side.

 

Orion remembers this tactic, it was one they used for centuries while fighting together. Bait and strike. A dance they both knew all too well. Taking the new opening, Orion raised his fists and punched the demon in the face; causing the shade to stumble back right into Asteria’s waiting blade. With a swift and fluid motion, the edges drew across the demons form and ended its time in Thedas as it slunk to the ground.

A firm hand came to rest on Asteria's shoulder as she dissipated her daggers, breathing still ragged.

"Always overestimating how much you can deal with." Orion chipped in with a chuckle. But it was quickly cut off by a groan of pain as Asteria embraced him fully taking up his full attention. Orion had never felt so relieved to have her in his arms. To know that she was safe.   

She had cut herself off from them, all because he couldn't protect her from Zeus. ' _You shouldn't have let me go back! I could've protected you!_ He wanted to exclaim. He wanted to apologise for how he failed her. Tell her how angry he was that she cut them off. But that would wait, there were more pressing matters than his feelings. The fate of all the other constellations.

"Well, if I was inconsistent," Asteria paused to turn her head against his chest and she saw that the battle was finished and that the others were looting the shades and bodies, "you'd always worry."

Orion looked down at her in disbelief. "I do always worry!" He quickly released her from their embrace, putting distance between the two. "Do you know how worried we were!? Do you realize how worried I was for you?!" Orion yelled, using his arms to exaggerate his meaning. "You blocked us out, we had no idea what was happening, why you were in so much pain, where we were." He paused to suck in a breath. "And finally, when you did allow ONE, and only one of us through, we knew it was because you were hurt AGAIN!"  

"What else was I to do? Open the gateways right off the bat and have all of you come out to investigate?" Asteria shot back.

"No. But it would've been wiser for you to actually care about your well-being." 'For once.' Orion wanted to add. She always was careless with her life. Sure, she was still immortal, sure she still would heal faster than any human. But she could still feel pain, still experience the sting of a paper cut, feel the cold numbness from frostbite. She wasn't indestructible. None of them were. Orion tried to make her see this, countless times he's attempted only to fail to show her that she can't be so rash, ending with her hurt. Something he couldn't bare to watch, let alone be the cause of.

"Instead of thinking that you can 'handle it yourself'" He used air quotes. "You need to see for once that you can’t. You're not as young and powerful as you were before." Now she was vulnerable. Her immortality, memory, will and focus fading with each passing day. Orion was scared that one day she would forget altogether. Him, her resolve, her morals. _‘Could she even lose those? Could a god even truly dissolve into history?’_ Orion asked the question every day. Though he never followed up on them.

But deep down he knew the answer.

"I can defend myself without your help, Orion."  

"Can you? I think that's up for debate." He crossed his arms and leaned back on his leg, the stress of coming into the real world injured was starting to take its toll. "Without my reminders and pestering, you would've forgotten how to act like an actual human being."

"Which I'm grateful for-But I don’t require it every second of my life." She looked at him with sympathy. Here was her friend. Someone who she placed so much trust in, someone who she felt she didn’t deserve. Orion is her stone, her anchor, her reason to continue like she is. She knew she depended on him too much. She was ashamed of that fact, without him she would be lost. Adrift in her fading memories and time since past. He stabilized her, protected her, and she failed him. Something she couldn't forgive herself for. ' _He had been hurt to protect_ me _and I couldn't do anything to stop it.'_  

"I asked Leo so that you could at least still recover." She looked over his spectral form, the nebula of his stars started to flicker. He was growing weaker from being here. Unable to actually hold his form for more than a few minutes. ' _The lightning really did a number on you hon.'_ Asteria concluded. "You're already fading, Orion. I didn't want to cause you any more pain. If I would've asked for you to come, you never would've left. I know you too well."  

Orion looked away. He knew she was right. He wouldn't have left her for a second. Tightening his jaw, he leaped to the next topic that plagued him and her companions. Their home. The spirit realm. It had vanished, replaced with an alien world.  

Green dominated the sky alongside rocks and boulders that floated carelessly. Orion had never seen their heavens look like this. The sudden change from the spectral realm of palaces and wilderness transformed to this eerie wasteland. The other constellations were terrified. They had no idea what was going on, what had happened to Asteria, or why their paradise now looked like a scorched wasteland. They had all tried to break through the gateways of her tattoos into the world. Only to find that she had sealed them out, or in, in their case.  

When she finally opened them and asked Leo for aid, the lion jumped at the opportunity to defend her and to find out what was wrong. When the lion returned frustrated and fuming Orion took that as a red flag. Something was not right. Leo only further confirmed this when he reported her being trapped under rocks, tired and with a strange power sapping away her energy. He went on to describe how she was being attacked by figures with tight skin drawn over jagged torsos that had torn robes sparsely covering its form. How he had to face off with a short black-haired woman with a sword and shield. He also noted that Asteria knew her somehow, but Orion couldn’t remember anyone by that description that he had seen with the Titaness.  

"Okay." He finally spoke, bringing his eyes to meet hers once again. "But we've got a bigger problem then your personal management. It's the spirit realm. It's changed. Drastically." He sucked in a breath, drawing Asteria's full attention. "We all woke up surrounded by flying rocks and swirling green skies. Everything is gone. Replaced with looming statues of bird and a shit ton of stairs."  

"You woke up in the fade." Solas's voice came from behind the two. He and the others had tried to remain quiet throughout the two’s argument. But time was waning and the mention by the flickering form, of the fade, was a perfect time to interject pushing them onto the Breach.

Orion turned quickly around only now noticing the presence behind him. "Solas, not the time for your input." Spinning back just as fast to and Asteria with arms crossed. It was then he realized what he said. He did a double take of the elf and company. They were exactly like how the games showed them. Cassandra stood around Asteria's height, her shining Seeker armor and bloodied sword showed she meant business. Solas and all his apostate/godliness stood about a quarter inch taller than the Seeker, strange because elves were typically shorter. He had on his traditional garb of the cotton pajama top and the wolf jaw necklace. Lastly was Varric, shorter than the rest and flaunting the chest hair. Orion though that the dwarf had the shirts custom made so that they couldn't button up that far the first time he saw him in the game. _Game._  

"Gamiméno theón." (Fucking gods). He Cursed under his breath.  

"That's what I said," Asteria added with a slight laugh. Orion turned to her eyes wide. ' _How could this be possible? We're in Thedas... Solas, Cassandra, and Varric are standing right behind me.... That mean that Asteria was the-'_ This explained a lot, though. Why they had all felt such pain, why the constellations and he had woken up in such a strange world, cut off from their regular home. They were trapped in the fade and Asteria was the Herald. _Shit._

"You know of me?" Solas questioned. He wondered how this form knew his name. How he knew of the poor elf that now bared his mark. He watched as the two shared a connected gaze as if they were having a complete conversation just through expression. Something Solas was sure of. Not only could he feel the magic being shared between the two, he could see how they reacted to one another. Knowing when to stop, when to argue, what to say. They had been companions or more for a long time. Each a part of the other. Magic energy seeping from her to him and then back again. It was mildly intoxicating sensing the exchange. So much power given and exchanged so freely.  

"Err... No." He received a not so stealthy elbow to the rib, which he winched at. "Yes. I overheard your introduction to my friend here." He gave a warm smile. "It kind of freaks people out when I say yes right off the bat." Solas raised an eyebrow at the term of phrase. "Figure of speech." He clarified.

"You're connected to her." He nodded to Asteria. "Through her markings, correct?" It was something he noticed when studying them. How they resonated magic together. How each one reacted to the pain his mark tortured her with.  

"Actually- well kind of… yeah… I guess that would be the easiest way to describe it."  Orion trailed off. Going too far into explanations would make the web of lies they’re going to have to weave all the more difficult to navigate. The simpler the lie, the less likely to be caught.

"We need to be going. This conversation can wait until after the Breach is dealt with. "The Seeker scowled making a disgusted noise.

"I'm with the Seeker on this one," Varric stated, repositioning Bianca on his back. "The faster we stop whatever's spewing from the bloody hole in the sky, the better."

"Agreed. I believe we can offer a better answer once the whole 'end of the world' business is done." Asteria cocked an eyebrow. She knew his curiosity would never be satisfied. But Cassandra was right; they needed to at least stabilize the Breach as fast as possible. Everyone in this world depended on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I know we're still in the prologue and stuff. I'm hoping to get to Haven in the next chapter, but this one just had so much dialogue and I had to bring Orion back, it was kind of torture for him to just sit around and wait for Asteria. I promise to have the story progress more! Also, the next chapter could be up in a weeks time *fingers crossed* 
> 
> ** Edited **
> 
> Thank you for all your lovely comments and kudos, you all make my day :)


	4. Puppies and Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orion and Asteria have a little spat. The group adopts a dog, and a pride demon gets poked in the face.

As they started crossing the hill, Asteria heard Cassandra clear her throat and looked pointedly at Orion.

"This thing is injured."  She glared at Orion. Her eyes never leaving his form.  "It needs to be taken care of," Cassandra continued. "It will not be coming with us."

Asteria's expression soured.  "He's not an 'it' or a 'thing' or a 'what'," she told her flatly. Orion saw himself as a person. He was, in all aspects except physical, just that. Not recognizing that just due to his appearance... no, Asteria wasn’t going to stand for it. She never did.

Reducing someone down like that  denies their importance, belittles their self-confidence and makes them into nothing but an object. Objects can be used, exploited, possessed.

Orion is no one's but his own.  

The Titaness sighed, and interjected before Cassandra could respond with her own argument, "But I’m with you on one thing.” She turned to face her friend. “Orion, you're not coming."

"I'm going," he stated taken aback. She had just defended him against the Seeker, yet she agreed with her that he should just, what? Leave?! He needed to stay. He had to protect her, what if Zeus came back for her? She was already injured because of his slow reaction time. He had to be here to make sure that she was safe. It was his duty. It was his own oath.  

He watched her run up in front of him and put her uninjured arm out to stop him. "No. You're not."  

"Um, yes, I am," he quipped back. Sighing, she ran her good hand through her hair.  

"Ri, I want you to come, I really do--"

"Then why are we having this conversation? Hmm? Let's just close the big hole in the sky and be done with it," he suggested sternly. Orion knew the breach wouldn't be completely closed. But at least she'd be out of harm's way for a while. Nothing happened in Haven until the attack by the mages or templars, and that was by his estimates, months away.  

"No! That's not what I meant and you know it!" She shot back. " Look at yourself Ri, you can barely stand, let alone fight." She grabbed his hand and held it out before him, his form was fading. The stars in his arms were flickering: bright then low, bright then low. She was right. He was starting to weaken. In this state, he'd be no help to either of them. With a reluctant sigh, he retracted his hand to his chest and stood silent for a moment before deciding to offer a proposition. 

“You’re injured,” he stated, grasping at straws.

“I’ll heal.” She brushed off his concern with ease.

The Apostate stepped forward towards them, he opened his mouth to speak.

She cut him off before he could protest. “Don’t waste your mana on me Solas. I won’t risk you going into mana exhaustion. It’s just a sprain.”

He narrowed his eyes nodded, retreating back to the others.

Orion took a breath in. "I'll go back if, and only if, you ask Canis to protect you." He saw her jaw tighten and then her eyes chanced to her new followers. Cassandra looked on edge, but who wouldn’t be? She had failed her duty and this mess, or at least in her mind, the mess was her fault. Her failure. Varric was trigger ready, Bianca was prepped and drawn for the next demon to approach. He seemed the most relaxed out of the bunch. Then there was Solas, his eyes were constantly sizing, analyzing and questioning everything Orion and Asteria mention, discussed. He also seemed off kilter, most likely due to his plans failing. ' _That's right, it's his fault.'_ Orion clenched his fists. _'He's the one who put her in danger. It's his mark, his magic.'_ He's as responsible as Zeus is.  Or in Orion’s mind, he was.  

Asteria sighed, seeing no other way to combat the issue. They were wasting time. Precious time. She looked over to the Seeker. She had her blade drawn but at her side. Her eyes never leaving Orion. "Seeker?" She asked. "I'm going to be asking another one of my--" she tried to find the right word, "comrades to join us."  

"Solas, you can confirm that these are not demons," Cassandra asked dryly. Solas nodded and reassured her. "Very well. But if it so much as moves to attack any civilians or soldiers, I will not hesitate in the slightest to put it down." The girl nodded to her, then turned to her friend.

"I agree to your 'if's' Orion." Taking a deep breath, she was ready to call forth Orion’s hunting dog. "Canis major, I ask thee if you would grant me a companion in my time of aid." She waited for him to appear.  

"Canis, come." Orion barked in command. At his words, a large spectral dog stood before them.  It was the traditional dog that people of her 'time' used on various hunts: the Molossian dog. Canis barked at his arrival and at seeing both Asteria and Orion. He circled around Asteria and placed two large paws on her thighs to get her attention. His tail wagging and slobbering furiously.

"Down Canis, down." She gestured with her good hand for him to get off her.  

"That’s no Mabari."  Varric comments slyly.

"He's a Molossian- a close relative in breed to the Ferelden Mabari." Orion countered without pause. Cassandra and Solas seemed to accept this, but Varric still eyed the dog with curiosity. “Asteria, you should probably give him skin." The spectral man said to the girl. She nodded and touched the dog’s muzzle and it's shimmering star body, transformed into that of fur.  

"Maker," the Seeker said breathlessly.  

"It's an illusion. It'll protect him for being seen as a demon." The girl paused to stroke the dog’s fur. It had a similar build of the modern Mabari, a bit thinner on the shoulders and torso. Though looking at the fur, it was all wrong. A brown underbelly, and bottom of the muzzle had a dark coat. The rest was as black as night.  

"Fascinating." Varric heard the elf say from behind. Being able to change something appearance with a touch of the hand. A useful skill, a useful magic. But it begged the question, just how far those powers went. It did nothing but weaken her alibi of innocence. She could have easily used it to sneak into the chantry with the divine, used to manipulate the mages or Templars. There were too many possibilities, too many questions.  

"Is this adequate, Seeker?" Asteria asked turning to Cassandra. She seemed to gawk at the dog who was sitting impatiently beside her, drool cascading down from its mouth. The picture of elegance.  

Cassandra seemed to take a moment to form her words carefully. "My threat still stands. It harms anyone, it is dead." Asteria nodded and the dog barked in acceptance, and then strolled over to the Seeker and gave her armor a lick. "Please restrain your-- dog from licking me."  

Asteria gave a chuckle and whistled for Canis to come to her, he obliged and dashed over to her with excitement. Orion stood now beside her and bent down to squat at Canis's level. "You're here to protect Asteria. Understand?" Canis barked in agreement. "I am entrusting her to you. If anything comes to harm he--"

"Ri, he's a war dog." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "He understands his duty."  

"More like a war puppy," Orion muttered to himself.

Asteria rolled her eyes.

"Very well." He stood to face the Titaness and noted that her yellow eyes had flakes of green now present in them. Another change that this situation has forced upon her. "Be safe."  

"Always my friend." She smiled. "I thank you for thy service and duty. Please return from whence you came." Orion dissipated into the air and silence that fell over the group. It was only Canis’s short bark and heading up the hill towards the rift, that broke the sterile quiet. Asteria clapped. "Well onward and upward." She stated and her new companions followed behind. None of them commenting on Orion or Canis.  

As they reached the next set of stairs Cassandra finally spoke. “I hope Leliana made it through all this.” her voice was filled with concern.

“She’s resourceful, Seeker.” Varric reaffirmed  

“We will see for ourselves at the forward camp. We’re almost there.” The group got to the top of the hill. Soldiers were fighting demons, 2 lesser shades and 2 wraiths, not the hardest bunch they've fought against, save for the glowing green rift that was suspended in the middle of the little courtyard they came up upon.  

“Another rift!” Cassandra cried out.

“We must seal it, quickly!” the elvhen apostate added, casting an ice spell in the direction of a lesser shade.  

“They keep coming! Help us!” A soldier yelled to their group, right before a claw revealed itself from his neck, and the soldier slumped to the ground gurgling. Cassandra, Solas, and Varric all jumped into action. Their attack being aimed mainly at the shades and wraiths. Asteria and Canis beelined for the rift. Canis kept the attention of the shades and wraiths off her as the Titaness held up her still injured, but healing hand up to the green void.

“Hurry! Use the mark!” she heard Solas shout as he twirled his staff, casting ice about the battle field. Taking a deep breath she psyched herself up. _'I've got this.'_ She said mentally. She tried to push power and magic into the mark. It was harder without Solas aiding her, her fractured bone did nothing to aid the situation. The magic seemed to just want to go in every direction. The Titaness had to will the strange otherworldly power, corral it, to go towards the rift. Feeling a connection, she waited for a surge of power before she clenched her fists, pain shot up through her hand to her shoulder. Asteria gritted her teeth and the rift dissipated, though it did not disappear. Taking inventory of the battle she watched as the first round of demons dissipated back to, she guessed the void. New little mounds of green light were forming.  

The next wave of demons was dealt with swiftly. Astria closed the rift, chancing a glance to her tattoos and observed that their colouring still changed as she mended the fabric of the veil. She watched their colouring return to normal as the others made their way to the gate. Cassandra yelling for them to open the gate now that the rift was gone.

She spotted Varric helping a soldier to her feet. He looked up to meet her gaze and then nodded on to the now open gate.  “Whatever that thing on your hand is, it’s useful.”

"Yeah... it is."

Canis sauntered up to her and rubbed a drool-covered muzzle on her pant leg. He licked her injured hand. "Don't worry. It'll heal itself soon." He whined but trailed off behind her as she made her way to the angry cleric.  

She handed off her potions and got a couple new ones in return. The sound of Roderick yelling flooded the camp. Great for morale is an understatement.  The cleric in question was bent over a table, looking at map or orders. He didn't even look up to address Leliana. Asteria guessed that it was another way to show his blatant disrespect for the Spymaster.  

“ _I_ have caused trouble?” Leliana said in disbelief.  

Roderick sneered at Leliana. “You, Cassandra, the Most Holy – haven’t you all done enough already?”  

With a stern voice, Leliana crossed her arms. “You’re not in command here!”

“Enough!” Roderick exclaimed, “I will not have it!” Roderick's head shot up in their directions, Asteria's mainly.  

“Ah, here they come.” The cleric’s eyes followed the bloodied party.

Leliana walked over to the group. “You made it. Chancellor Roderick, this is–”

“I know who she is." ' _Do you? Do you know who I am, Rodey? Wanna bet?'_ Asteria wanted to challenge the 'holy' man. She understood that he thought that this was all her fault. That this was his way to mourn the divine. To cope with the destruction that literally rained down upon them. "As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution.” His wrinkled fingers pointed right at the Titaness. Canis growled in response but was silenced when her hand met his ear.

“'Order me’? You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!”

Asteria wanted to fist pump Cassandra for the line. It was one of her favourites. Though seeing and hearing it in person, changed the severity of the comment. Roderick though he had power. He thought that if he could tell everyone what was right and what was wrong, that something, would happen. He didn't want to be challenged by the Seeker or the Spymaster. Roderick wanted this mess fixed, yes. But he wasn't willing to see an alternative solution. So she stood as the one who tried to make them all see that they needed to get to safety. Not only for his own sake but for the men and women in the valley. Seeking a safer location would cost them the valley they fought so hard for, but it would also save lives. He was forced to try and bully the left and right hands of the divine to see his reason, but they were having none of it.  

“And you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry!”

“We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know.”

Rodericks raised his hands. “Justinia is dead! We must elect her replacement, and obey _her_ orders on the matter.” Asteria was tired of their bickering already. She had heard it enough in the games to know that this could've gone on for hours if she didn't move the conversation along.  

“Umm… Isn’t closing the Breach the more pressing issue?” she suggested.  

“ _You_ brought this on us in the first place!” Roderick snapped pointing at her. ' _Well then.'_ “Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless.”

Cassandra stepped forward. “We can stop this before it’s too late.”

Roderick threw his hands up in frustration. “How? You won’t survive long enough to reach the temple, even with all your soldiers.”

“We must get to the temple,” Cassandra refuted. “It’s the quickest route.”

“But not the safest," Leliana interjected. She points to the mountain pass. "Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains.”

Cassandra shook her head. “We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It’s too risky.” The Seeker was not willing to lose more people in the slim probability that they could save a couple of scouts. Their group would have a better chance in a larger group. The more there were, the better the chances for surviving and closing the breach were. 

“Listen to me. Abandon this now, before more lives are lost.”  He looked up to the sky just as the breach started to expand. Power and magic fluctuate from Asteria’s mark. She collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain. Solas and Canis were by her side within seconds. Solas helped her to her feet and then went straight for her marked hand. Canis whined as she stood.

“How do _you_ think we should proceed?” Cassandra asked in concern and genuine curiosity.

Asteria had to think. This wasn’t a game. She had to remind herself. These were real people, with real lives. Her choices would affect them and potentially decide between their life and death. It was a heavy burden to carry. She’d always try and stay away from those mantles of leadership, though avoiding fate never worked out in myth or practice.

She looked between Leliana and Cassandra, their faces seemed neutral and reserved. But their eyes had dark bags under them. She assumed that the pressure of the breach, mourning of their friend and overall insanity that was Thedas at the moment, did nothing but weigh down their once bright eyes. They were tired and at the end of their rope. Faith was all that they were running on. Faith that they could close the breach, faith that they’d get justice for the divines death, faith in Asteria.

‘ _Great…’_ She sighed. _‘The whole ‘some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them’_ Line from the Twelfth Night was really suited in this context.’ She thought.

She took a deep breath in as she weighed the pros and cons of each. Mountain pass pros: save the scouts. Con: heights and ladders. Charging pros: get there faster. Cons: more casualties. Her hand began to shake. 

It boiled down to life vs death. Both had a rift. Both took her to the Breach. “The mountain path," she said sheepishly.

“Leliana, bring everyone left in the valley. Everyone.” The Seeker ordered. She was disappointed that they were making another detour. They had already wasted enough time. The Breach was growing and they were going out of their way for scouts that were already dead; it seemed like a fool's errand.

“On your head be the consequences, Seeker,” Roderick warned her as she passed. ‘ _They always were.’_ Travelling up the mountain was easy enough, the lack of heavy snowfall over the past two weeks had made it easier to reach the first set of ladders. She asked Varric to take point, knowing that he’d be able to quickly get away if there was any danger at the top. Cassandra made the prisoner go second. The girl dismissed her demon hound as they got closer, promising the whining thing that she’d call it right back as soon as they were at the top. With a whine the ‘dog’ dissipated.

The Seeker watched as the girls eyes followed the rungs up the side of the cliff. Her face went pale and her shoulder slumped. The apostate seemed to notice this too and placed a guiding hand on her shoulder.

“I’ll be right behind you,” he offered as reassurance. She nodded and tried to climb. One foot after the other, though Cassandra noticed her favouring her right arm, placing no pressure on her left.  The conversation with the demon did mention that she was injured, though she did reassure the mage that it was a mere sprain. A manageable/overcomable injury. Though how she treated it now suggested it was more than that.

“What’s wrong with your arm?” Solas asked before the Seeker could interject.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

Solas narrowed his eyes and gave a slight frown. Extending his hand towards her left arm gesturing for her to give it to her. She was reluctant to hand it over, but gently extended her arm.  Solas took it up within his own, pulling back the sweater. He started to probe it with magic. Solas sent tendrils cascading over the arm looking for the injury.

“No. No, you’re not. You fractured the bone.” He stated sharply. His tone was admonishing. As he looked further into the bone, he could see that it was already healing. Strange considering how it was so fresh. The severity of the actual fracture wasn’t severe, but it would’ve been painful to move or use the arm in any way, let alone lift it.  “With an injury like this most people would be begging a healer to help take away the pain,” he commented now looking at her face as healing magic spread through her arm. “Yet you denied it.”

Asteria stiffened. He was right. She was being an idiot. ‘ _This wasn’t a game._ ’ Asteria reminded herself. She couldn’t just grind her way through the next two years of Inquisition. She’d burn out long before then, that or worse: get someone killed. No, she was being childish, naive and conceited.

Her shoulders dropped as did her gaze. “My apologies. I shouldn’t have kept this to myself. I was a liability to you and the others.” She confessed.

“You’re right, it was ignorant. This could’ve put us and yourself in harm's way. What if one of us needed aid in the next battle and you were the only one available? Is pride reason enough to hide such a severe fracture?” Solas let go of her hand, the healing done. She pulled the arm to her chest and rubbed where the healing had taken effect. “Think ahead. If anything would’ve happened to you, the mark would have been lost and the breach could have destroyed the world. Hundreds of thousands of lives would have been lost or at stake due to you trying to ‘act strong’.” His tone was strict but to the point, though he watched her flinch at every word he tried to put emphasis on.

Sighing Solas placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, the girl’s head was still down, no emotion was painted on her face. It was cold and neutral. A mask.

“Shall we?” He asked gesturing a hand to the ladder. Asteria let out a shaky breath but looked up. She proceeded with her head held high and her shoulder back. A show to put on for the questionably silent Seeker and child of the stone, that were watching their exchange.

That confidence though vanished as she started up the ladder. Asteria shook the whole way to the top. Her breathing was ragged and he caught her muttering to herself in another language more than once.  Once they finally reached the end of the ladders, the girl let out a breath of relief and summoned her spirit to aid her.

They made it through the mine with relative ease. Encountering  little resistance, not that it was difficult to overcome. The girl was in full swing again. She danced across the battlefield dodging talons and parrying deadly strikes. She was as elegant on her feet, as she was deadly. Her nimble elf-like frame aiding her in her in and out an attack.

Coming to the exit they found the bodies of some of the scouts. Their bodies still warm. There were two elves among the bodies. Solas let out a heartfelt sigh. So much death in the wake of his mistake.

The party continued forward down the rocky pathway that was covered in snow. Soldiers were fighting and a rift stood in the center of an alcove. The party scrambled into action.

“Lady Cassandra!” One of the soldiers shouted in relief. Her sword met a demon's torso head on.  

“You’re alive!”

“Just barely.”  The carry on fighting after the short introductions. Asteria disrupted the rift with relative ease, though she pegged that mostly to her arm being healed. The next wave of demons landed a good hit on Solas when he was too distracted with covering Asteria and Cassandras flank. He didn’t go down per say, but when the rift was finally closed he limped over to stand beside the Titaness.

He reached into a big pocket on his cotton tunic and pulled out a bottle or vial, it was hard to tell. It had viscous liquid in it. A healing potion. He extended it to her, as if a test. She shook her head. Solas and her both then looked to where the rift one hovered.  “Sealed, as before. You are becoming quite proficient at this,” he said stoically. Tilting back his head, he chugged the red liquid, giving a slight cough as the bitterness of the elfroot hit him.

“Let’s hope it works on the big one.” the dwarf quipped. Cassandra helped an injured soldier to her feet with a grunt.  Both warrior and scouts blades were bloodied with demon incor.

“Thank the Maker you finally arrived, Lady Cassandra. I don’t think we could have held out much longer.” the soldier said, blade still was withdrawn and sweat pouring down her face. Her brown hair was starting to come untucked from the feathered helmet she wore. Strings of hair sticking to her drenched face.

Cassandra shook her head and then stepped towards Asteria. “Thank our prisoner, Lieutenant. She insisted we come this way.” ‘ _The girl’s gamble paid off. Time for life._ ’ The Seeker noted a little surprised.

The soldier gave a slight bow and salute to Cassandra then slowly but surely turned to the prisoner. “The prisoner? Then you…?”

Asteria shrugged and gave a charismatic smile. "It was worth the risk to help."  

“Then you have my sincere gratitude.” the soldier said sheathing her sword. Asteria placed a friendly hand on her shoulder and then pointed down to the scout’s ribs. A red stain was starting to spread through the fabric. It mustn't be deep enough for it to be life threatening, but enough to cause pain and discomfort.

The prisoner held out a potion to the scout. “Here. You’ll need this more than me.”

The scout reluctantly took it. She eyed the container and then downed the whole bottle in a single gulp. Wiping her mouth, she smiled to Asteria. “Thank you, Serah,” she said.

Cassandra cleared her throat and instructed the remaining scouts that the way behind them was clear and that they were to go while they still had time on their side. The soldier acknowledged her orders and barked at the rest of her mobile band to help get the injured up the ladders and through the mines path quickly.

Distracted by the exchange, Asteria watched this all from the outer edge of the alcove they had fought in. Canis at her side rolling in the snow.

Solas slowly approached; his footsteps barely making a crunching sound in the snow. “You would readily give up a healing potion for someone you barely know.”

She startled. The girl and her dog snapped around eyes wide with surprise.

“By the gods!” She exclaimed holding her hand to her chest. “Cough or something would yeah? You almost bloody well gave me a heart attack.” Solas chuckled and the girl’s cheeks reddened a bit.

“I shall endeavour to be more indiscreet in the future.” He smiled back at her. His eyes followed her hands as she ran it through her hair and gave a cheeky grin. “Giving up something that you or one of your companions could use to heal themselves in the coming battle; it’s a strange form of generosity.”

The girls smiled faded and was replaced with an indifferent mask. “It was useless to me unless I wanted to have a closed throat. And on the other side of the coin, it was one of the potions Cassandra had given to me in the valley. As far as I believed, you and Varric had your own bottles.”

Solas hummed. “Insightful, but also a risky wager. Betting on intuition for the sake of generosity.” He looked past her, hands folded behind his back.

“Do you have a problem with my generosity, Solas?” She challenged.

“No. I see no flaw in that trait.”

She raised an eyebrow in his response. Resting her weight on her back leg, she crossed her arms and studied him.

“I just hope your luck and kindness hold out. ” He then turned away and started walking, leaving a quiet Titaness in his wake. “The path ahead appears to be clear of demons as well,” he shot to Cassandra and Varric.

“Let’s hurry, before that changes.”  Cassandra took point. “Down the ladder. That’s the way to the temple.”

As they were trekking down the hill, Varric piped up, “so… holes in the fade don’t just _accidentally_ happen right?”

“If enough magic is brought to bear, it _is_ possible.”  

‘Accidentally.’ Asteria wanted to snort. This whole fiasco was a giant accident. A miscalculation.

Varric had seen too many bombs and explosions in his life to know that if one so desired to be a fanatic, blowing a temple right off the mountain side wasn’t a stretch. He’d seen Anders play ‘pop goes the chantry’ with little more than homemade bombs made of sewer scum. The Qunari had their gaatlok. The world was a mess with enough sources to cause the Conclave to go boom. But  ripping a hole in the sky. That was a whole new level of ‘boom’. “But there are easier ways to make things explode.”

“That is true.”

“We will consider _how_ this happened once the immediate danger is past.”

The party continued down a winding pathway to the ruins of the temple. A stone path met them at the entrance. The ruins of the once proud Temple laid before them. Broken stone walls, scattered bones, and ashen corpses were beyond counting. The smell of the poor souls caught in the blast stung their noses: burning flesh mixed with the smell of sulphur.

“The Temple of Sacred Ashes.” The solemn tone of Solas’s voice echoed off remain of a great architectural feat 

“What’s left of it.” Here now though the place looked alien. Cassandra could barely make out any of the former halls and rooms, let alone navigate them. The divines chambers were up ahead where the first rift was. That was the extent of her knowledge of the layout.

Her nose crinkled at the smell. Cassandra’s eyes stung not only from the resident smoke but also of the destruction that laid out before her. “That is where you walked out the Fade and our soldiers found you. They said a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was.” When Cassandra had first got news of the survivor and what the soldiers had seen, she had scarce believe it. But with the girls ‘confession’ in the dungeon. Cassandra was starting to rethink her doubt. Now that they are here though the place looked alien. She could barely make out any of the former halls and rooms, let alone navigate them.

They round a corner to come to a larger section of the temple. The breach looms overhead, green lights swirling down into the ruins, down onto a waiting rift. Crystals seemed to be shooting out of it, as tendrils of magic danced in the air. The magic echoing around it pulled at every fiber of her. She was no mage, but the Seeker could feel the power in the air. She cast a glance over to Solas and the girl. They both seemed to be entranced or daunted by the breach.

“The breach _is_ a long way up,” Varric commented. His voice breathless from the sheer size of it. Leliana approached from behind with some soldier and scouts.

“You’re here!” She exclaimed running up to meet Cassandra, “Thank the Maker.”

Cassandra turned to see her friend approach. She looked to be unharmed, though her was quiver a little emptier. “Leliana, have your men take up positions around the temple.” Leliana nods and walks away to give her directions.

Cassandra then turned to face the Titaness. “This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?” Asteria was still looking up to the sky. She’d never seen anything so vast and terrifying in her life .  (And that’s saying something.)  It was as if it was it was mixture of the northern lights and the storm Typhon created to destroy her kin and the gods. Swirling skies and potent magic in the air. The memory of the great war between her kin and the gods prickled at her memory. ‘ _No. I need to stay focused. Focus.’_ She told herself.

Clearing her throat and mind, Asteria spoke, “If I have to climb another bloody ladder, I swear by the gods it won’t end well.” She nodded to the sky.

Solas stepped forward, his eyes being drawn from the breach and the rift below it. “No. This rift was the first and is the key.” He explained simply. “Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach.” In theory, it would work. Given enough power, almost enough to be equivalent to his orb, it could be sealed. He knew though that this girl had no such power. He could feel the magic rolling off her, she was a mage no doubt, and powerful. Yet, even with the mark, she barely had a sliver of the power his orb had contained. With what she had within her, magic and mana wise, she’d be able to stop the Breach’s expansion. A good enough resolve for the time, but still not a complete solution.

“Then let’s find a way down. And be careful.” The Seeker lead their group down the steps. Leliana followed close behind. As they get closer, they hear echoes from the Fade.

A voice booms out from the rift. “Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice.”

“What are we hearing?” The Seeker questions, her hand going instinctively to her swords hilt.

“At a guess, the person who created the Breach,” Solas explains as they pass two archers in perched overlooking the rift. As they go further down the path. Red crystals protrude from the rock and soil. Canis gets closer, sniffing the red rocks.

“Canis come!” Asteria shouts in panic.

“You know this stuff is red lyrium, Seeker,” the dwarf says, his voice almost faltering.

“I see it, Varric.”

“But what it’s _doing_ here?” He tries to stress the urgency and severity of its presence in his tone. Wherever the red lyrium was, trouble always followed. He’s had enough of the madness and death that it had caused. Kirkwall torn apart by a crazed templar hopped up on the red, his own brother's death, to the void with it all. He’d had people studying it for over 4 years and they’ve found next to nothing on it. All that he knew for a fact was: where it went, chaos and corruption followed in tow.

The elf could see the dwarfs alarm at its presence. “Magic could have drawn on lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it…” He provided.

Varric shook his head and tugged on his gloves agitated. “It’s evil. Whatever you do, don’t touch it,” he warned. They carried on to a set of stone stairs when the booming voice echoed off the ruins once more.

“Keep the sacrifice still.”

They jumped down into the bone-littered pit. The first rift floated overhead, the party approached the mass of green when a different, higher voice rang out.

“Someone help me!”

Cassandra knew that voice anywhere: she served that voice, protected that voice loved that voice, failed that voice.  “That is Divine Justinia’s voice!” The rift and the prisoner's hand flare.

“Zeus!” Asteria heard her own voice call out from the rift. “Or not…”

Cassandra’s head snapped towards the prisoner. The girl stood there just looking up into the rift “That was your voice. Most Holy called out to you.  Who is Ze-”

There is a flash of white light, then ghostly images appear. Divine Justinia was floating while being held in place by red energy wrapped around her arms. A large dark figure with glowing red eyes looms over her. The sound of doors being slammed open and the prisoner walked in. “Zeus!” Her eyes went wide as she looked upon the dark figure. “Or not…” Cassandra watched as the girl then runs towards the ghostly vision of the Divine. “By the Gods! Get away from her!” The vision yelled.

Justinia  shouted to the ghostly figure that was running towards her. “Run while you can! Warn them!”

The booming voice now came from the large dark figure. “We have an intruder.” It’s misty head snapped towards the Titanesses ghostly image. “Kill her. Now.” There is another flash of white light and the ghostly images disappear.

“You _were_ there! Who attacked? And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?” Cassandra interrogated.

“I don’t remember!” Asteria said.  It was a half lie, it was foggy, but she knew the general exchange from the game. She had walked in on Corypheus and ruin his plans that were ‘years in the making’.

“Echoes of what happened here. The Fade bleeds into this place.” Solas turned to a shaken Seeker. “This rift is not sealed, but it is closed… albeit temporarily. I believe with the mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side.” He knew the dangers. But it was a risk they needed to take to stop the Breach’s expansion.

Cassandra shouted, “that means demons. Stand ready!” Her voiced warned those ready on the side of the pit’s walls and those within its grounds. Soldiers on the ground drew their weapons and took their positions. The archers that were perched on the sides drew their bows, arrows ready to rain down upon their enemies.

Asteria stood under the rift, her hands shaking. Canis came up beside her and rubbed against her leg. How she wished she could have Orion here with her. He would be able to keep a level head. He’d be able to handle this, not her. She looked over to Cassandra unsheathing her sword and swinging her shield from her back. The Seeker nodded for her to open the rift.

All eyes turned to her. “It’s now or never,” she said softly as an aside. Reaching up to the open rift, the mark flared in response. Asteria watches as beams of light and magic erupted from the rift. With a flash of white and green light, a gigantic form appears just to the left of her. A thunderous roar shakes the ground as the Pride demon stands ready to fight. Sparks of electricity dance over its boney plates.

“Now!” Cassandra shouts raising her blade to lead on her troops. Three soldiers tried to flank the demon, their swords make purchase with the demon’s legs, but their blades making no indentation.

Asteria charged into action alongside Cassandra and Canis, summoning her blades. Cassandra went in for a full frontal assault as the Titaness and the constellation weaved around to its flank. Giving a quick nod to Canis, she abandoned him in favour of the rift just above them.

“We must strip its defenses! Wear it down!” Cassandra ordered. “Quickly! Disrupt the rift!”

Asteria raised her hand to the green tear and pulled at the wisps of magic that danced around her. It was exactly like the previous rift. Once she felt enough power was going through the mark, she snapped her hand closed.

The demon cried out as it fell to its knees, the bony armour covered in sparks now vulnerable to the blades of the Inquisition. Several soldiers start slashing at its ankles, each cut spraying black ichor across the ashen ground. Arrows hailed from above as both Varric, Leliana and her scouts attacked with a vengeance onto the still wounded Pride demon.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Titaness saw Solas dealing with three lesser shades that had also come through. Taking a quick inventory above, she judged that she had time before the rift formed crystals again and was able to be disrupted and eventually closed.

Darting over to the elf’s position, Asteria could tell he was losing ground. Fast. He wasn’t prepared for the up close and personal attack. His glimmering, but waning, barrier evidence to that fact. Solas managed to use the blade of his staff to cut and severely injure one of the shades, but the other two were coming in strong and with fully-bared talons.

His barrier shattered as someone else struck at one of the remaining shades. Two glowing blades now embedded within its torso, Asteria grunted as she pulled back from the attack. She’d hyperextended herself to reach him in time. But she made it. Her eyes met his and he gave her a quick nod.

Together, they descended into a deadly duel with the final demon. Ice and dagger met seamlessly against the torn cloth and skin that was the shade. The demon fell to the ground quickly, both Solas and Asteria panting.

“Ma serannas,” Solas spoke, still trying to calm his breathing.

Asteria patted him on the shoulder with a grin and started for the rift. “We’re not done yet!” She called back to him a smile pulling at the edges of her lips. Solas shook his head and smiled, throwing himself back into the thick of the fight. He protected her back as she disrupted the rift again. The Pride demon fell to the ground, crying out in agony as metal stripped away its life.

He shot ice towards the demon when Asteria took it upon herself to jump onto one of the spikes. She wobbled as it moved to swat her away as if she was nothing more than an annoying little insect, not the deadly force she was. She managed to climb up to the beast’s shoulder and continuously stab at its face and neck. A massive roar came booming for its throat before it tumbled to the ground.

Asteria had managed to somehow stay balanced on its body and, with its fall, she walked off its arrow-ridden back towards a tired Cassandra

“Now! Seal the rift!” Solas heard the Seeker yell.

When the girl took up her position to go close the rift for the third time, she had the look of emboldened determination. Reaching her hand up, she guided the magic into the rift, trying to heal the fractures that the orb’s release had caused. As the rift soared with power, the girl still stood steadfast in her position. Watching the Breach above now, he could see the edges actually pulling at themselves. Healing themselves. For a moment, Solas was both shocked and amazed. He didn’t expect her to have this much power, she was actually trying to close the breach.

He had presumed too much. The breach didn’t close, its expansion only halted, be it momentarily. The rift that loomed over the pit sputtered and closed with a snap and a large bang.

The girl fell to the ground unconscious. Sweat dripping down her forehead, mark flaring ever so slightly and breathing shallow. Solas heard the Seeker yell for a healer as she ran to the former prisoner’s side. Solas strapped his staff to his back and started towards her, his mind racing with questions.

 The most prominent one being: ‘ _Who was this girl that now possessed his mark?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a bit longer than I intended at first. Though I hope it makes up for my prolonged absence and lack of updates. Thank you all for sticking with it and I can't promise an update before Tuesday, but it's a safe bet that it will be next week. 
> 
> Feel free to bug me on my Tumblr if you guys are dying for an update. It'll be a good reminded and it really helps motivation wise. :) Have a great day!


	5. In T Minus Two Bells

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asteria wakes up in a cabin and teaches an elf to stand. Orions and Asteria are acting like children. Cloth is better than steel and Solas gets confused.

Asteria shot up in bed gasping. Her marked hand went to her chest and she started to cough. Her throat was raw and she felt like she had been crushed by a marble pillar. Something she really didn't want to ever again. The Titaness body was coursing with strength and power, the sheer mass of it was overwhelming. The pain in her chest only a side effect.

A hand was by her side rubbing her back soothingly. She looked over to see the human form of Orion kneeling beside her. ' _He never wore the illusion with me?'_  Before Asteria could ask, he took the hand into his own and squeezed it slightly.  

Orion's copper skin seemed to contrast the sheetlike whiteness of hers. The black curls of his hair were loose and unmanaged from the days he's spent watching her, protecting her. He watched every visitor, healer, and servant that bid entry to her room. If you could consider it a room.

Four wooden walls boxed her in, two windows shone in golden light, illuminating the room. The cabin was rustic with a desk and some furniture. Nothing really grand besides the oak bed she laid in. He had been resting in a chair in the corner for the past three days. Never once returning to the 'new' spirit realm favoring her safety over his comfort.  

The servants and members of the Inquisition had been accommodating. Most thought of him to be 'their' Herald’s bodyguard. He'd even been asked if he was her lover or husband. Orion had tried so very hard not to flinch at the comment. He merely laughed it off with more force than necessary, but it did the trick. No one asked him any questions about him and Asteria. Except for the bloody apostate.  

He'd been one of the more frequent visitors to the room. Solas being the only one who knew how to stabilize the mark, he was allowed to come and go as he pleased.  The elf had asked so many questions: What was the girl’s name? Asteria. Where was she from? Nowhere, they traveled. What was he? A companion. Orion had answered very simply, short answers and simple lies and half truths. That's all they needed to do. Eventually, the elf grew more tactful with his interrogation. Asking questions that would need more of an explanation or that would contradict previous answers. Orion had almost let the cat out of the bag on a few occasions. But the main questions were about Asteria being an elf and how she knew that type of magic. Finally, the elf withdrew from his questioning, thinking himself smug for getting that much.  

Solas did comment on the constellations humanlike form and presence on more than one occasion. Orion had to explain that he was healed enough to come back and take up her protection. He knew that coming and prancing around in a shimmering body of stars and galaxies was not the most practical way of protecting his charge. The hunter opted for his human form. A simple spell that was easy to maintain.  

 Asteria had taught him and others it years ago. It was her way of making sure that they were safe. That if they ever wanted to leave or just explore, that they could do so without having a militia on their doorstep.  

Only Cassandra, Varric, Solas and the advisors knew that he wasn't human. Orion had made sure that they would allow Asteria to explain everything. Reluctantly they agreed, only if the advisors were told that he was to remain at Asteria’s side.

Each seemed to take it in a different stride. The Seeker and Cullen seemed the most apprehensive about his presence. Both of them complained that he was a demon. But they reluctantly agreed to keep their swords scythed if Orion was pegged with a scout. The fact that he was doing nothing but staying by the Herald’s side, did nothing but thicken their suspicion of them both.

The Nightingale seemed almost as intrigued by his duty as Solas was by his actual existence. On their first introduction, some hours after the Titaness had been placed in the cabin and Orion had appeared, she questioned him. She asked questions about the whys, not the whats or the hows. She was always trying to make the constellation slip up. To have him give more than a few words as answers. The interrogation with Solas had him prepared.  

Most of her questions beat around the bush. Or in her case, Orion would give her the credit of the wolf circling around the injured rabbit. He dodged questions he knew Asteria might have more in depth opinions on, like his past or hers. This didn’t avoid the Bard’s careful and inquisitive attention, though. It chilled him at how cold it was.  

Asteria squeezed his hand, returning him to the present. Her eyes searched him, taking inventory of his well-being. She had to know that he was okay. He still wore his clothes from Earth, though he looked tired. Asteria noticed dark bags under his eyes. The once vibrant brown irises were duller from stress. Asteria narrowed her eyes, looking closer into her friend’s face. She noticed strange green flecks dotted in the solid brown.

Giving him a questioning look, Asteria asked, "what's wrong with your eyes?"

Orion drew back, a little shaken.  "Huh?"  

"Your eyes, they have green in them," she said.

"So do yours."

Asteria's hands went to her eyes, touching her lashes gently. "They don't look half bad ya know," Orion grinned. Asteria punched him playfully in the arm.  

"What about the other half, you dork?" Orion chuckled. Suddenly, the door to the cabin opened. Both of their heads snapped towards the sound. A shaking female elf carried a little wooden box and then turned to looked at them with wide eyes. The box fell to the floor and she dropped to her knees. He head bowed and her hands together praying.  

“I didn’t know you were awake, I swear!” she pleaded. It was as if the elf was expecting punishment for her wrong doing. The wrong doing of just walking in. "I beg your forgiveness and your blessing. I am but a humble servant.” The Titaness shook her head and stood. She walked over to the elf carefully, Orion watching her every step. Asteria rested a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, causing the girl to stop shaking and stiffen instead.

"Shhh," the Titaness cooed. "You made no fault, da'len. Please." Her hand left her back and the young elf looked up to their savior with wide eyes. Asteria extended her hand to her. "Stand." The elf took her hand gingerly and helped herself up. She kept her gaze low when Asteria tried to meet her eyes. The Titaness noticed this behavior. This was something she'd seen countless times in countless eras. Avoiding someone who they thought held power over them was a sign of submission. It was something she'd seen slaves and servants alike do. At one point, even herself had bowed to the Gods as a way to survive. No, she wouldn't let this stand. The girl before her deserved more than just blindly submitting before anyone.

Flemeth was right in DA2 when she said that "the people bend their knee too quickly".  Even though Asteria wasn't truly an elf, she felt for their plight. She herself had watched as the people she once loved and cared for were ridiculed throughout history as they climbed to the very top only to fall from the pedestal. This was one of the reasons why Asteria hated the fame and power that the title of Titan, God, Lord, Emperor... etc. brought. It only served as a longer way to fall or to be pushed from.  

She saw why Solas disliked the elves of this time. Watching them fight over scraps of mangled history. But what the Titaness couldn't understand was why he didn't understand that this was a part of life. That the rise and fall of empires were like that of the tide. It was only natural. Sighing, Asteria turned her full attention now to the elf that was fidgeting before her.

“You’re back in Haven, my Lady." The girl began just above a whisper, still avoiding her gaze, "They say you saved us. The breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand. It’s all anyone has talked about for the last three days!” Asteria bit her lip and nodded. 

"Asteria, there's still a lot to do." Orion piped up from behind them. Asteria looked to him then back to the girl before her. He was right. Not only did they have to close the Breach, they had to restore order and peace as best they could. A tall order to fulfill.

"Then it's about time we get our act together."

The elven girl shifted her stance, but still looked upon their savior with bright eyes.  

"What's your name?" the Herald asked.

Taken aback the girl started to twiddle her thumbs in agitation. "Um-- it's Ferne?"

"Are you sure?" The girl looked questioningly at the Herald. Why would she not be sure of her name? The very question puzzled Ferne. Had she done something wrong? Said the wrong thing?  

Biting her lip Ferne started into a shuddered apology. Before the Herald raised her hand and placed it almost motherly on her shoulder.  

"Look them in the eyes when telling them your name." She began lifting Ferne’s chin. "You need to say it with conviction. It's not a question of 'if' it's your name. No. It's who you are. " The Herald’s eyes shined, and a smile crept upon her thin lips. "You are stating, not only to them but to the world, who _you_ are." She lifted her hand from the perch of Ferne’s shoulder and crossed her arms. "Try it again," she prompted.  

Taking a step back, standing a bit taller. Ferne took a breath in. "My name is Ferne, my Lady," she said, a smile on both their face. A small nod came from both the Herald and the man standing behind her. He seemed to be copying her stance, merely observing. She'd seen him here the past two days as the Herald had been resting. She'd been instructed to bring him food, but he turned her away at every meal. Ferne wondered why he was here. Was he instructed by Lady Cassandra or Sister Leliana to watch the Herald? Was it his duty?  

Ferne looked back to the woman in front of her, remembering her own orders and duty “Lady Cassandra will want to know you’ve awakened. She said ‘at once’!” Her voice was now a little louder. Her eyes brighter than before.  

“And where is she?” 

“In the Chantry with Lord Chancellor."

Orion watched as the girl, Ferne, bowed at the hips and left the room. Her chin a little higher. Walking up to Asteria he patted her on the back and flashed a smile. Always the inspiration. It always baffled him how she managed to make people aspire to be better than they were. It was a blessing to be counted, that's for sure.  

Asteria sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It was greasy and a tangled mess. The black locks had somehow developed a curl and turned into a rat’s nest. She walked over to what looked like a desk sat in the corner. Opening all the drawers and sifting around for a good half minute she found a brush.

 _'Small victories.'_ She smiled. After brushing her hair she searched her wrist for an elastic, when a cough drew her attention. Pivoting to face the bed. Orion sat there with the look of utter amusement, a hand on his knee holding his big smirking head. The other holding a hair tie. She snatched it from his hands and stuck out her tongue. She responded in kind with a small chuckle.  

"You're an ass," she teased.

"But I'm your ass." He laughed then stopped. "Wait, that came out wrong." This time, the Titaness giggled, while flipping her hair back into a ponytail.  

“Yes. My glorious and annoying ass.” She snorted.

Orion stood and made a mock bow. “A pleasure to be of ass-istance.” He looked up from his bent position, a toothy grin spreading across his face.

Asteria deadpanned. “That was good, but no. Just no.”

“You love me.”

“Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p’. Orion chuckled.

“Fine, tolerate.”

“Hmmm, maybe,”  Asteria smirked, stepping in front of the door. A pit formed in her stomach.  Looking to Orion for confidence, a small nod was all she needed. Turning the handle, she opened the door. The outside light temporarily blinded her.Once her eyes had adjusted she saw 20 or so soldiers line a cleared path. They were each clad in shining armor with the Inquisition’s all seeing eye the centerpiece of every breastplate. Their gauntlets were over their hearts in a Roman salute.  

Asteria steeled herself and started to walk Orion in tow. Her gait a parallel to the one she used in the French and English courts. She heard whispers of men and women bewildered by her appearance.  “That’s her. That’s the Herald of Andraste. They said when she came out of the Fade, Andraste herself was watching over her." Or the blessing she received as she walked by ranging from: “Maker be with you” to “Blessings upon you, Herald of Andraste.” Each one cementing her stance in their eyes. They believed in her, were in awe of her, worshiped her. And that terrified the Titaness.

She felt stronger than she had in centuries. The miss-faith these people put into her was giving her power and strength. She could feel the pull of magic more easily. Whether that be from the mark or their belief, she couldn't differentiate.  

Heading to the Chantry she passed the fire pit that in-game Varric would constantly reside around. She couldn’t catch sight of him, only Chantry sisters and villagers lined the path. More people stared at her as she walked by. They wished her good luck in sealing the rift and safety in her travels. The sheer miracle of what they expected her to do was starting to dawn on her. Asteria could feel the onslaught of panic starting to set in. They wanted her to save the world, to change it for the better. They expected her to be the one to do it all. Every mistake she'd make would be listed in the role call of fallen names. Each of her choices would have consequences. Asteria’s chest felt tight and her hand began to shake.

Orion saw this and took up her mark in a firm hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He watched as his friend regained her composure. She didn't fear to do the impossible, she feared to fail their expectations. She placed so much on her shoulders. Always thinking it's her duty, never someone else's. He wanted her to share in her burden, to be able to trust and count on these people, on him. For both their sanity she needed to.  

They reached the Chantry with relative ease. Orion made sure she more quickly past gossiping Sisters. The building of the Chantry was large, larger than the one he's seen while Asteria had played. It had the relative shape of the one from Inquisition, it was the sheer size alone that was the difference. Inside there were more doors and chambers then what was showed. He imagined many of them lead off into private rooms for worship or the advisors chambers.  

Standing outside the big oak door, Asteria and Orion both listened to the Chancellor's tantrum about their former prisoner turned Herald.

"Have you gone completely mad? She should be taken to Val Royeaux immediately, to be tried by whoever becomes Divine.” The man’s squeaky voice was muffled by the wood.  

Cassandra's harsh and final tone was also muffled, “I do not believe she is guilty.” They could hear someone bang something on a table.  

“The prisoner failed, Seeker. The Breach is still in the sky. For all you know, she intended it this way.”

 “I do not believe that,” the Seeker defended.  

 "That is not for you to decide. Your duty is to the serve the Chantry.”

 “My duty is to serve the principles on which the Chantry was founded, Chancellor. As is yours.” At that the two opened the door the shouting stopped momentarily. Two soldiers, Templars, stood guard on the inside. You'd think for security and privacy the War room would have them on the outside.

 The rooms were square, two bookcases on opposite sides of the room. Three figures stood amidst the Titaness and the Constellation. Roderick was dressed in his Chantry robes and hat. He looked to be clean shaven yet the bags under his eyes suggested a lack of sleep. The Chancellor was the first to make his voice heard.  

 “Chain them. I want her prepared for travel to the capital for trial.” Roderick ordered to the guards. Neither moved a muscle.

 Cassandra waved her hands. “Disregard that and leave us.” The Templars saluted and left, leaving an undermined cleric fuming with rage. 

“You walk a dangerous line, Seeker,” he sneered. 

Cassandra's jaw tightened. The chancellor had been arguing his moot point for hours. He demanded the girl’s head for the destruction of the Conclave, for failing to close the Breach. The Herald was the only one doing anything about the chaos. Cassandra wasn't going to fault her for her efforts. “The Breach is stable, but it is still a threat. I will not ignore it.”

“Asteria did everything she could to close the Breach. It almost killed her,” the demon in human skin said harshly. Cassandra stepped towards him as a challenge. He held his ground as the cleric tried to butt in.  

“Yet she still lives. A convenient result, insofar as you’re concerned.” His hand pointed the Asteria. The demon’s brows narrowed and Cassandra watched as his jaw became taut. Instinct had her hand on her sword’s pommel. But Asteria’s hand on his arm seemed to calm him a bit.  

“The Breach is not the only threat we face.” She spoke with conviction. Her eyes never leaving the chancellors. Leliana approached from the other side of the table, her silent presence almost missed.  

“Someone was behind the explosion at the Conclave. Someone Most Holy did not expect. Perhaps they died with the others – or have allies who yet live.”

Roderick’s hands flung up in the air. “ _I_ am a suspect?” He complained in disbelief.  

Leliana didn't smile at his reaction, her deadpan expression betraying nothing. “You, and many others.”

“But _not_ the prisoner,” Roderick snapped.  

Cassandra saw fit to interject. She knew what she believed; it's what had kept her going in the time before the Herald’s awakening. “I heard the voices in the temple. The Divine called to her for help.” She looked over to the two, who now stood eerily silent at the door. Cassandra saw the two cast glances at each other. Their eyes meeting and something flashed between them, it was as if an entire conversation was being shared in simple gestures.  

“So her survival," The chancellor gestured to the Herald’s marked hand, "that _thing_ on her hand – all a coincidence?”

Cassandra shot him a stoic look. “Providence," she stated. "The Maker sent her to us in our darkest hour.” Whether Cassandra herself believed it wholeheartedly that it was the will of the Maker was up to debate, even to herself. All she did know was that this girl, this woman before her, was the one the fate of Thedas depended on.

"Knowing all that you know, you honestly believe I am your chosen one?"

Cassandra frowned slightly.

"You still think that Orion here is a demon." She nodded to the form beside her.

Cassandra still did. How could he be something neither spirit nor demon, when he could appear and disappear in a mist?

“I have not forgotten.” The Seeker’s tone was sharp like the edge of her blade. “No matter what you think or what—company you keep, you are exactly what we needed when we needed it.”  

Leliana stepped forward, hands firmly behind her back. “The Breach remains and your mark is our only hope of closing it.” She maneuvers the Chancellor towards the door. The Herald and her guard seemed to take the hint and move around the side of the table.  

“This is not for you to decide.”

Cassandra slammed a leatherback book on the table, the bang echoed off the stone walls. Leliana knew what this was, it was what they planned to enact if the Conclave wasn't successful. It's safe to assume it failed at this point.  

Justinia had written the writ herself. It had taken her months to complete. Neither Cassandra nor Leliana knew of its existence until the beginning of the peace talks. When the Divine had first told them of its value, and purpose. Leliana had questioned if reenacting the Inquisition of old really was the best solution for the war. Cassandra had been behind it with all of her faith.

The Seekers gauntlet brushed over the cover. “You know what this is, Chancellor?" Her steely gaze snapped to the trapped cleric. He steps forward seeing this as an opportunity to voice his disagreement, but Cassandra stops him. "A writ from the Divine, granting us the authority to act. As of this moment, I declare the Inquisition reborn.” She backs Roderick up against the wall. Her gauntlet poking him in the chest as she continued.  “We will close the Breach, we will find those responsible, and we will restore order with or without your approval.” The chancellor glares at her and then to Leliana. Finally, he turns with a huff and grunt and leaves.  

The air in the room seemed to get lighter at his departure. Leliana walked over to the book that now laid on the war table. She carefully opens the cover and sees familiar handwriting. “This is the Divine’s directive: rebuild the Inquisition of old. Find those who will stand against the chaos. We aren’t ready. We have no leader, no numbers, and now no Chantry support,” she confesses. Her eyes still scanning every word her friend wrote.  

Cassandra placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She saw the Leliana was still mourning, to the void! She was still mourning. But now was not the time for regret and grief. Now was the time to act, a time to restore order.  “But we have no choice: we must act now." The Seeker looked up to the Herald and the demon. "With you at our side,” she finished. 

The Herald stepped forward and held out her hand. “If you need me all you have to do it ask.” Cassandra shook it firmly.  

“Help us fix this before it’s too late.” The Herald nodded. After giving her some instruction, they had told her to be back within the next two bells for an important war table meeting.  Leliana had sent her and the demon off into the village to get acquainted with the blacksmith, requisitions officer, and apothecary. Marker knows they'd need to debate with the former to produce some healing potions that didn't cause the Holy Symbol of the Inquisition to die.  

Leliana tapped her on the shoulder. Her hood that typically covered her red hair was now resting on her shoulders.  

"I'll assemble Josephine and Cullen. We have much to discuss."  

"Yes, we will  brief them before the Herald returns about -- certain matters regarding her 'companions.'"  Cassandra mentioned. The spymaster raised a brow but said nothing more, knowing it was more fun to chase the prey then to have someone else kill it for you.

The Seeker bet that Leliana would have the girl figured out within the next hour if not before then. She was already chomping at the bit for every scrap of detail on the Herald. But nothing turned up. There was no name on any roster or inquiry. Nothing. It was if the girl herself had just stepped out of the rift from nowhere.  

Cassandra sighed and returned to her cabin. Leliana was the best at what she does, if anyone knew anything about the Herald, Leliana would find it.  

Asteria and Orion had been given leave for two hours to solve all the problems of Haven. They had first talked to the requisitions officer, who had been nice enough. Though the way she was ogling and hitting on Orion made the Titaness shift from the awkwardness as the obvious flirting ensued. Orion had tried to let her down easy but the woman was having none of it. It was only when The Titaness had suggested that they go find the wood stand that she'd left him well enough alone.  

Finding the path to the wood stand was easy enough, they exited out of Haven with ease. They had avoided the soldiers training, much to Asteria's disappointment. Though they could still hear the Commander barking orders from where they were sneaking around.

Orion made a point to tell Asteria that they were being followed. She'd seen figures try and dart in and out of her immediate vicinity all day. Regardless if it was scared villagers or Inquisition spies, the Titaness had known Leliana wasn't one to leave a mystery unsolved.

They'd tried not to dodge or loose the spies. Asteria wanted them to trust her, to make them believe that there was nothing malevolent about either of them. Orion blatantly objected to the idea of being willingly followed But he saw the game board for what it was and went along with it anyways.  

Finding the empty cabin with the notes from Adan’s mentor on the desk was a piece of cake. It was trying to decipher between which were the needed note, and which were just scrap pages concerning both the Titaness and Constellation alike. They couldn't read common. It made sense, yet it didn't. The people here spoke common, English if you will, yet they seemed to write in a completely different language. Another wrinkle in their disguise. Asteria sighed and ran a hand through her hair. How was she to explain about knowing all of this old magic, magic that would have been written in scrolls. Yet she can't read.

She couldn't ask Solas to teach her because he'd be too inquisitive about the whole ordeal. Wondering how she knew what she knew if she couldn't read. Varric would be a better option, though he's also too curious to not ask questions. Josephine would be the better option, though Leliana would know within three seconds of her leaving the room of what she'd asked.

"Fuck!" She yelled in frustration, all the pages from the desk being tucked into her back pocket. Orion gave her a side glance, the falling snow dotting him in white flakes. Asteria kicked the snow as they trudged through the power towards the wood stand. It was all just another thing for her to figure out, to solve. Learning a new language was simple after the 8 or 9th one, but seriously?! Could she not catch a break of some kind? Was that the universes karma for all her mistakes?  

"You'll do fine," Orion reassured. "It won't take you that long to pick it up. The writing looks similar to Hebrew anyways. I bet they have the similar patterning with their verb tenses and such."

"Thanks, Mr. Positive, now what have you done with my Ri? Hmm? I miss my pessimist ." Orion blinked at her, his expression just done with everything. They found the stand after that. Killed a couple rams and druffalos to bring back to the cooks. A decent meal and fresh meat would boost morale a 100 fold. When the first bell rang, they knew they needed to get to the Chantry within the next hour.

The trek back was quiet, neither one said much. And as they rounded the lake, two scouts that Orion could swear had been tailing them approached heads bowed. They offered to take the meat off their hands and deliver it to the cooks. Asteria made a point of correcting their stances when speaking to anyone and instructed them to deliver the pelts and hide to the smith. She sent them off with a few well-placed words and a friendly wave.  

The forge was large and attached to the stables and a cabin. A terrible combination really. What if a spark was carried by the wind and landed in the dry hay? The whole place would be like a tinder box. Asteria was going to have to bring this up. It wasn't acceptable for safety and liability reasons.  

Harritt was pounding away at a breast plate when the bloody Herald of Andraste showed up. All the noise of the forge say for the crackling of the fires stopped at once. He turned his head and watched as a small girl with tattoos and a giant dark-skinned man entered his work area. They were both dressed in strange clothes, though the girl had a green jacket on. Nothing they wore gave them any sort of protection whatsoever.  

He had expected the Herald to be by soon, he’d already finished her first set of armor this morning. The measurements from the ambassador were quite helpful. Harritt hadn't seen the big guy nipping at her heels like a lost puppy, ‘ _He probably needed fitting too.’_ The smith sighed, knowing he'd have to use double his materials for him to just be covered. He took off his placed his hammer on the edge of the forge and removed his gloves.  

"Expected you'd be by, I'm Harritt." The smith stuck out his hand.  “Everyone knows who you are." The Herald nodded and shook his soot and calloused-covered hand. A good firm handshake, none of that prissy half-grabbing the person's fingers that most noble women did.

“Asteria,” she said with authority, “and he’s Orion.” Turning to shake the giant's hand, he suddenly had a thought.

‘ _The Herald was a noble right? That's what everyone said._ ’ She knew how to look and talk to people, she had the air of nobility surrounding her. If she wasn't one he'd be surprised. So long as she was protected by the armor he made, it all didn't matter where they came from. Whipping his hands on his apron he got down to business. “So I guess it’s about time we get you into some of that armor, eh?”

“If at all possible, Ser.”

The smith, waved for them to follow as he round the corner of the armor rack. He looked around for the chest he’d put her armor in. “Maker's Balls, where’d I put the blasted thing?” Lifting a shield up, he revealed the chest. He unlocked it and handed the Herald the armor. “You can change in the cabin attached to the forge.” He pointed to the door, then looked over at the big guy. “I don’t think we’ve got anything to fit you though.” A soot-covered hand scratched his chin. Could make you some, but I’d need more iron than what I’ve got in stock.”

Orion shook his head. “I don’t need anything, I’ve got my own.” He have the smith a nod, but Harritt just shrugged. Asteria took the armor in hand, the cloth was standardized green. It looked to be a mixture between warrior and rogue. She guessed they didn’t know what to do with her. That or protection was more important than flexibility.

Excusing herself from the two men’s conversation she went to go try on her new armor. The overall design was similar to that of middle ages. Too much shiny metal and not enough constructive hide. Asteria made notes to try and skillfully craft some traditional Greek or Roman armor. It might’ve looked stupid, but layering cloth was a strong and flexible material to make armor out of. Far better than sheet or tempered metal.

Finishing off the last buckle and tucking in the apothecary's notes into a pocket on the side, she emerged from the cabin. Harritt nodded at his handy work, but Orion was noting all the errors in its craft. He circled around her plucking at the buckles and useless designs carved into the flimsy steel breastplate. The fact that it had boob holes was idiotic and sexist in his mind. They were structural flaws. A hard enough hit from a war hammer and her chest would be caved in within a heartbeat. Not that she would die from it mind you, but it would hurt like the underworld if she did.

“Do you have any cloth or some form of hide available” The constellation questioned as he poked at the buckles. Asteria sighed heavily.

“Orion.” She knew exactly where he was going with the comment. She at least had the decency to stay silent about the armor’s flaws. But when it came to her safety, Orion was full on mother hen.

“Asteria,” he countered. She shot him the ‘don’t’ look and he faltered and bit his cheek. “Fine.” Asteria gave the smith a warm smile before they departed. As they made their way to the apothecary, Orion continued to try and adjust the plating for some benefit to protections.

“It’s a terrible design,” he stated coldly, ignoring all the odd looks he was getting from the villagers. “What we need is some lamellar. It's light and durable, not to mention flexible for you.”

“I know what Lamellar does Ri, I was planning on eventually integrating spirit armor anyways. It’s everything I dream armor to be, literally.” She paused then looked at his modern day t-shirt and pants. “You’re going to wear yours, right? I won’t take you anywhere near a sword or a butter knife if you don’t wear it. Understand?” She put her hands on her hips and Orion rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated breath of air.

“Aye, Aye.” The Titaness smiled and gave him a pat on the back. She started to run up the stairs when she stopped at the top. Solas was standing at the door of the apothecary talking with Adan. They seemed to be arguing but the moment Asteria crested the hill Solas’s attention snapped to her, much to Adan’s approval as he grunted and made his way back to his shack.

Asteria looked back to Orion, who was just climbing to the top of the stairs. “I’ll meet you at the chantry doors for the second bell, after I talk with Solas and Adan,” she called out to him. He bit his lip, looking between the two. Nodding reluctantly, he turned and started towards the centerpiece building.

The apostate watched as the Herald dismissed her companion. He started towards her, hands clasped behind his back. “The chosen of Andraste,” he began. “the blessed hero sent to save us all.”

Asteria couldn’t tell if there was a hidden sarcastic or cynical undertone to his words, , but she did well to not point it out.

“So long as I’m riding in on a shining steed.”

Solas chuckled and gave a half smile. “I would have suggested a Griffon, but sadly they’re extinct.” Just another thing Solas must’ve lost to the ages. A glorious beast on both Earth and Thedas, sadly in both worlds they no longer dominated the skies. “Joke as you will, posturing is necessary.”

“I’ve got a few positions in mind.”

Solas raised an eyebrow sardonically. “I look forward to seeing that for myself.” He watched as the Herald’s coughed, trying to stiffen a laugh or hide her embarrassment. Probably both. Her rounded ears turning a shade redder.

She turned her head to avoid his gaze and she looked over Haven. Watching the villagers went about their lives serving the Inquisition and trying to make ends meet. He followed her line of sight. Coughing, he began, “I have journeyed deep into the fade and ancient ruins and battlefields. To see the dreams of lost civilizations.”

 _‘How many of those dreams were his?’_ Asteria wondered as she watched two children run about the camps and cabins.

“I’ve watched as hosts of spirits clashed to reenact the bloody past in ancient wars both famous and forgotten.” Pivoting to face her, Solas looked into the Herald’s eyes. There was something within them that made him curious. So much could be read from just the way she maneuvered her eyebrows or angled her head. The way she was viewing him now, there was a tang of sadness and something else deep within the mixture of green and gold irises. “Every great war has it’s heroes.” The girl steeled her features and met his surveying gaze. “I’m just curious what kind you’ll be.”

“Hopefully the type that survives it all.” Asteria laughed a little too hard. “Being a martyr only gets you so far. Typically dead, but only so far.” Solas nodded knowingly. The Titaness ran a hand through her hair and gave him a cheeky smile trying to get back to the script. “So you enjoy exploring ruins?” She knew that it would peak his interest.

He smiled, a slight upturn of the edges of his lips, his eyes going distant for a moment. “Any building willing to stand the rigours of time have history within them. Every battlefield is steeped in death. Both attract spirits. They press against the veil, weakening the barrier between our worlds.” Pausing, he watched the Herald nod along with his explanations. Solas placed a hand to his chin trying to decide on how to proceed. “When I dream in such places I go deep into the fade. I can find memories no other living being has ever seen. Though I assume you to explore the depths of the fade, if the style of magic you use is any indicator.” His expression was neutral, yet something about his pointed regard gave her the impression he was challenging her.

Asteria smiled. ‘ _Fuck._ ’ “Um yeah, I do my fair share.” She shrugged nonchalantly,” Though I don’t readily dream in ruins. It’s finally nice to talk about the fade with someone.” _‘That’s going to bite me in the ass, isn’t it?’_ She watched the elf smirk and nod. ‘ _Yep…’_ Asteria shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

Solas seemed to see her discomfort. “I agree, it is so rare that anyone besides spirits is interested in the study of the fade. It’s not as flashy as throwing lightning or fire.” He turned back towards the cabin, motioning for Asteria to follow. “The thrill of finding remnants of a thousand year dream? I would not trade it for anything.”

“Not even to live it for yourself?” He heard her mumble. Solas was taken aback by the comment.

“I-- Depending on the situation.” The elf paused. “Yes-- yes I would.” As he thought more on it, he realized that he would without hesitation. Solas would trade anything to go back and live his thousand year old dream. To walk in the fade when it no longer had the veil separating it from this world. That’s what his plan was, wasn’t it? To make it so that the world was the same as it was in Arlathan.

“Me too.” Her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s easier to live in the past when we can see it for what it was.” She searched his face. “The whole ‘in hindsight’ aspect really comes into effect.”

“That is a consideration,” he mused.

The conversation ended there.

Asteria watched his face, she saw the muscles in his jaw loosen and tighten. He was thinking, well hopefully he was. In the least it will throw him off her trail. Her mentioning the Fade wasn’t the brightest move she could have made. On Earth, she had played all three games and had most of the DLC’s. None of them really explained enough about the Fade, not enough to pass the test that is the Fade Master Solas.

Rocking back on her feet, Asteria bit her lip. The silence that now surrounded them was becoming thick with tension. Both were regarding one another. Watching, waiting for the other to make the first move. Clapping her hands together, Asteria tried to clear the air. “So--”

Solas hummed taking advantage of the broken silence. “I will stay then, at least until the Breach is closed.”

The Herald nodded knowingly. She stepped forward and placed the mark gently on his shoulder. Her hands were warm, he noted. Solas watched her long elegant fingers squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.

“You came here to lend your aid Solas. I won’t let them use any of that against you.: She paused biting her lips. Solas’s gaze traveled up her hand and arm until he met her eyes. He tilted his head to the side and raised his chin.

“And how will you stop them?”

“However I have too.” She smiled pulling back her arm. The warmness of her hand gone and now fighting against the chill of the mountain air. She sucked in a breath and turned her head towards the apothecary's cabin. “I better go see Adan before he tries sending us out with potions that are going to kill me.” She laughed. It was the kind of laugh that was infectious, somehow making the corners of his own lips to turn up.

“Already dealt with Herald. The apothecary already knows of your allergy and has -- reluctantly agreed to research alternative materials with healing properties.” A bell chimed in the distance. Asteria looked to the Chantry agitated.

“Styx!” She cursed. “I’m late.” She was about to wave goodbye to Solas when she stopped in her tracks. The notes. Turning to see Solas walking towards the door of his cabin, Asteria stopped him. “Hey, can you do me a favour?”

The mage stopped and leaned on his back leg. “Anything for the Herald.” She flinched at the use of the title. “What do you need of me?” She ran up to him and pulled out a bundle of papers with writing on them.

“I still have to give Adan some notes that Orion and I found in a cabin.” She looked hesitantly to the Chantry, the ring of the bells already faded into the distance sound of the village. “But I’m kind of sort of running a tiny bit late. Would you be able to give them to him, please?” The Titaness asked, trying to give him the biggest puppy dog eyes possible.

Solas sighed and held out his hands for the notes. She smiled and placed the bundle in his grip. “I owe you, Solas!” She shouted, waving goodbye before darting down the hill, powdered snow leaving a trail in the air behind her. Solas smiled then looked down to the papers in his hand. He skimmed some of notes. Looking over the writing it made no sense. There were pages on improving healing potions yet there were seemingly random pages of what looked like letters to a lover. _‘How had she gotten these mixed up with healer’s records?’_  he wondered.

Shaking his head, he headed into his cabin to sort through the pages. Something wasn’t adding up.

Asteria ran up to the doors of the Chantry where Orion and Cassandra are both eyeing each other. The Seeker had one hand on the hilt of her sword, the other clenched at her side. The constellation was angled so that if she chose to attack he could parry and block a strike. Both seemed ready for the others first move, though neither one would make it. Orion, both out of the duty he had for Asteria and for the fact that the Seeker up until this point, had not been outright hostile to him in public.

As the Titaness approached, both heads snapped to her presence. “You’re late,” the Seeker stated.

“Sorry, I was just dropping off notes to the apothecary.”

Orion coughed, drawing Asteria’s attention.

“What?”  she questioned.

Orion shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, nothing.”

His friend stuck out her tongue and he responded in kind. Hearing the Seeker mumble something about children, a small grin happened upon his face. ‘ _Children,’_ Orion thought. If she only knew just how wrong she was. Cassandra walked in front of them into the Chantry.

Asteria turned to Orion, her expression serious. “I think I might’ve just shot myself in the foot with Solas.”

Orion’s brows knitted together. “How?”

“The fade.”Orion made an ‘O’ with his mouth and nodded knowingly at her comment. Of course, the mage, the expert in all things fade-related would be intrigued as to how much she knew. Knowing her, Asteria would have probably probed him into it to gain some ‘simple’ approval, not seeing just how close to the edge of the blade she really was.

  
Asteria sighed and ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Peachy, everything is just frugging peachy.” She mumbled, slowly stepping into the large building. It was time to meet the advisors. It was time to face facts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it's been 10 days, not bad if I don't say so myself. It's about the same size as the last one, so maybe this might be the new average length. Hope that it's okay with everyone. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and if anyone wants to check out a fic that his the Inquisitor as a kid. You should check out Tyro. I'm sort of biased in that regard, but meh, it's fun to write.


	6. Calling it Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry.

Hey, guys, this isn't an update (I'm sorry). 

That's actually what I wanted to talk about. There won't be any more updates on Crossing Stars. Please don't rip my head off for it, it's just that I can't manage with school, work, family and on top of all that have 5 ongoing fics. 

I've left this one to go for awhile now. and well... I thought it time to you know.... really let it go. If I have time over the next few year I'll go back over it, fix my mistakes, and start posting again. But for the foreseeable future, I will not be adding any more chapters to this work. 

If someone wants to adopt the fic and write it, I would be more than happy to just hand it over. I would be really interested in how someone could continue it. But that's beside the point, or probably too much to hope for. 

So for Crossing Stars this is my final send off and 'chapter' if you will. Live well my friends and look at my _ongoing_ other fics: Tyro (kid Inquisitor), Bending the rules (waterbender in Thedas/ Avatar crossover), Feathers in the Dust (MGIT but she's a griffon), and Mortality (Death personified as a Dalish Elf). 

Live gloriously my friends.

-TQOT

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to dreamborn888 for editing. You do an amazing job and I couldn't do it without you!!  
> If anyone wants to message me about suggestions, I'm the-queen-of-thedas on Tumblr.
> 
> Also dialogue and some characters from Bioware. Please don't sue me for using them... please I'm broke...


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